According to one RCB batsman, there hasn’t been a deliberate choice to bat faster this IPL season.
In the current IPL, Virat Kohli is scoring runs with a strike rate of 146. He has only ever scored more than once, and that was back in 2016, when he was flirting with a thousand runs. Is this a deliberate attempt? Is he attempting to bat in a new, more forceful manner?
“Look, I’m not coming with any premeditation,” remarked Kohli following his maiden century of the 2024 campaign, which helped Royal Challengers Bangalore to a respectable 183 runs on a sluggish Jaipur surface. “I do whatever the surface permits me to do. I wasn’t 20 off 9 today. I had a 12 off of 10.
In particular, Kohli has shown a greater willingness to take chances by hitting beyond the boundary to discover limits. This year, he is lofting more balls each inning than he has in the previous ten. However, he attributes that to his routine of evaluating the game in front of him and understanding that he may take risks anytime he pleases.
“So I realized that I can’t be too forceful. I wish to avoid becoming cliched. I’m hitting the ball good, so I know I can step up at any time. However, I want to leave the bowler wondering about my next move. Most likely, they want me to come after them hard in the hopes of getting me out or making an early breakthrough. However, I believe our chances of reaching high totals increase if I bat after six overs and am set. Thus, I suppose it’s just a matter of age and experience gained over time, as well as an awareness of the playing circumstances. I essentially play the conditions and have three or four distinct ways that I can play the game.”
With his century on Saturday night, Kohli surpassed all other batters in the history of the IPL by two. It was his seventh IPL century overall. However, it took him 67 balls to get there, making it the slowest joint. The lack of pace and bounce, which the Rajasthan Royals spinners used to their advantage to end with combined numbers of 8-0-62-2, made it difficult for Kohli to strike the strokes he wanted to.
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“Not much actually got off the bat. Even when I attempted to slug Yuzvendra Chahal with a couple strokes, they continued to go under the bat. It seemed impossible to get beneath the carrom ball to knock it over midwicket, even for R Ashwin. If you could just aim straight in the event that they missed their length. It was tough out there for the batters, if you’re consistent enough.
“The wicket appears level, but as soon as you notice the ball staying in the pitch, you realize that the pace is shifting very rapidly, and that’s when the large proportions of the field come into play. Actually, our original goal was closer to 190 or 195. However, after evaluating the pitch and its slowness, we concluded that if either Faf or I left the game, the other would have to bat till the very end to help us reach a total that, in my opinion, is rather effective on this pitch: 180–185.”
This season, 38% of RCB’s runs have come from Kohli. With 316 runs from five innings, he now owns the Orange Cap and has amassed over 7500 runs in the IPL.
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