He is only 24 years old, but with 116 ODIs under his belt, Virat Kohli is emerging as the strongest pillar in the Indian batting line-up. He has often rescued the team from difficult situations and helped shape the innings like he did in the third ODI against Australia. The No.3 batsman made crucial 68 runs and was involved in a 72-run partnership with skipper MS Dhoni that helped stabilise the tottering Indian innings. He displayed skill and confidence as he negotiated the Australian attack led by Mitchell Johnson during his 73-ball knock.
The top-order batsman has played some magnificent knocks in challenging situations to pull India out of trouble on various occasions. After the game bcci.tv caught up with the batsman in an effort to understand what makes Kohli, Mr. Reliable. He also discussed how he counters challenges like he did today.
Excerpts from his interview:
India came back after the early loss of wickets to post a 300-plus score. What was your strategy to negotiate Mitchell Johnson?
He was bowling pretty quick but I was pretty confident about my preparation before this game and my feet were moving well today, so I just decided to back my game and take the situation up front and not let the scoring rate go down too much, because that could have cost the team some important runs. And then MS Dhoni came and we started to string in a partnership; so the strategy was to stay positive. And whatever balls I get to hit for a boundary, I will go for that but keeping in mind that it has to be low risk and we have to put up a decent partnership.
How do you manage to adjust so quickly? Is it form or self-belief or skill?
I like to improve my game every day. I like to go in and analyse the situations – what the team needs at that point of time, how I am batting at the point of time and what I can contribute to that situation. So it’s all about analysing in the middle how to go about that particular situation, because that’s how you improve as a cricketer and you want to get better every day. So that’s what I strive for. That’s something I always have in mind, to learn as much as I can when I am playing in the middle. Because you can watch the game, you can talk to people, but the most you learn is while playing and with experience. So that’s what I try to do and try to play accordingly.
Does having MS at the other end, or knowing that he’s still to bat, help the confidence?
I always have fun batting with him because he is one guy who knows the one-day format probably better than anyone else, be it finishing, be it playing in the middle overs or taking the team out of trouble. He knows everything; he is pretty experienced and now he trusts me as well to take responsibility along with him. So it’s quite a bit of fun because we think alike when we are batting in the middle, to make big partnerships, to rotate the strike regularly. So its lot of fun where we don’t have to say much but we understand what is needed. It’s a good combination in the middle when I am batting with him.
What would you say about Dhoni’s 139-run knock today?
We have seen quite a few of those from him when the middle-order hasn’t come through and a set batsman has got out and he has batted with the tailenders taking the team out of trouble. It is a great skill that he has playing with the tailenders; something that is very difficult to do. Something that we saw VVS Laxman do a lot in Test matches, which I think is a commendable effort. And today’s innings was very special.
Sourav Ganguly and Matthew Hayden have said that Virat is the best batsman in Team India. Your thoughts?
It is a big compliment coming from both of them. It is all about when you are in the zone just making the most of it and just trying to stretch my run as much as possible and score as many runs as I can for the team. And if people think that I am a responsible player, if people feel comfortable in the dressing room when I am playing out in the middle, then that is all I need. These kinds of compliments help along the way and always keep you focused to improve everyday and get better.
Can you elaborate a little more on what it means to get into the zone?
When you are not in the zone you think about a lot of things; what the opposition is trying to do to you, what their plans are, what kind of field they are setting rather than having your own set plan. Being in the zone for me means being confident about my game and just having the ability to tackle any situation and have my plans confirmed in my head rather than thinking whether they are going to bounce me or are they trying to get me lbw; I just rather watch the ball and pre-plan or I have plans to score to a particular bowler. So when you are in that zone, you think about your plans rather than focusing on what kind of bowling is going to be thrown at you.
How much has self-confidence propelled you to your current stature as the most reliable batsmen in the Indian team?
I think the two-month break has helped me a lot. When you are playing on the run it is very difficult to take time off and relax yourself. But these two months I have managed my time well and I came back and told myself that even if I have couple of failures, I am not going to think that it was too much rest for me, because I know how important it is, especially as an Indian cricketer, to get that kind of rest. So I came back mentally fresh and stronger. I trained hard in those two months as well. I took a bit of time off. It is all about clearing your head, clearing thoughts and going out and backing yourself.
How different was Johnson at Jaipur and here?
The wicket was different from Jaipur. In Jaipur the ball was coming on to the bat beautifully; today in the afternoon it was bit two-paced. In the second innings the ball went through nicely for the fast bowlers but in the afternoon it was a bit two-paced because there were patches of grass and patches of dry surface. He is a quality bowler. He is the highest wicket-taker from their side and he bowls about 150 kmph, so it’s always a good challenge playing against him and you get to know where you stand playing against a quick bowler when he is coming at you swinging the ball. I enjoy the challenge.
© BCCI
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