After seeing India to the final of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 with a classy 72, Virat Kohli said the knock that came in a difficult chase was his best performance in T20 cricket.
"Depending on the importance of the match, yes, you can say it is my best T20 innings," Kohli said. "But I have struck the ball better in T20s in other games. I have also timed the ball better than I did today and have managed to score five or six boundaries very fast. Today it was difficult, as I had to work hard for the knock. But as per the importance of the game, this knock tops it.”
Virat admitted that he and his team-mates were under pressure as South Africa set them a tough 173-run target, but they ensured the opponents don’t get the hint of that by maintaining a calm demeanor.
"I wanted to play an important knock when the team had entered the semis. I was in good form, so I though it is better that I stay till the end. In T20, it is very important that a batsman stays till the end. It's not like there was no pressure. It wasn't easy. Pressure was there. But it is important that you don't show it to the opponents. They are a world-class attack and the slightest mistake against them can cost you. I just wanted to stay calm and was keen to back myself."
Virat has established himself as a force in ODIs when chasing tough targets. Now, he is doing the same in the shortest format. When asked how his strategy changes in the 20-over format, he said the thinking and decision-making gets quicker.
"It's all about analyzing how many runs have been scored before I walk in to bat and what rate we are going at. Today we got off to a flying start, we were going at 10 runs an over in the first three. It gave me time to settle myself in. If we were six runs an over, I could have gone for my strokes and I probably could have got out. People don't realise the importance of those small starts but I think the way Rohit and Ajinkya batted initially, it set the platform perfectly for us, it put the pressure right back on South Africa and it allowed me to play myself in and stick to my plans.
"It's very difficult to break it down in a T20 game because as I said, rush of blood, plus it is a shorter format. Those calculations come down, they become smaller, become quicker. You need to think really quick, when to score, when to defend. I think it is all about how many their main bowlers have bowled or how many overs the part-timers are going to bowl, how many runs you need to score off the part-timers and the main bowlers. It's all about when I walk in to bat, I look at the score board, what the situation is like and talk to my partner, what we can do from there on."
One hallmark of Virat’s batting in the one-day formats is that he places great significance on running hard between the wickets and accumulates as much runs in singles as with boundaries. In this match, he scored 40 off his 72 runs in singles and couples.
"That's something I always believe. I was on 17 not-out off 16 balls without hitting a boundary. If you can do that and the opposition knows if I can get two boundaries in between, my strike rate goes up to 150, around that. It is very important to keep rotating the strike which, in a rush of blood, you always keep looking for boundaries. But as long as you keep rotating the strike and not lose wickets at the same time, the opposition captain has to think about a lot of things after that because if you can place the ball for two runs thrice in an over and the sixth ball goes for a boundary, it is a brilliant over for you. So I think it's very important to know the importance of singles and doubles in T20 cricket as well."
Elaborating on how he targets his to-hit bowlers, Virat said it was also a plan to attack South Africa’s best bowler in order to put pressure on the entire team. He referred to the fact that India scored 22 runs off Steyn’s second and third overs.
"Against a quality bowling attack, you need to be on top. It's important to put pressure on a world-class bowler like Dale. That's why the key is to score off the other bowlers so that he doesn't have too many runs to defend. That's why if you take six or seven runs off him, when he comes to pick wickets, it's more frustrating for the opposition. The plan was to not give him wickets. I think we ended up scoring 11 an over off him and that wasn't the plan at all. Once you start frustrating the opposition and not allow them to stick to their plans, the game starts falling in your way and that's what we decided to do."
Taking a break from talking batting strategy, Virat revealed a rather heart-warming incident between him and Dhoni, who refused to take a run off the last ball of the 19th over so that Virat could hit the winning run in the next over.
"Yes, he gave me a chance,” Virat said. I had told him 'aap khatam karo, lekin unhone bola is match mein main tujhe aur kuch nahin de sakta. Tuney acchi batting kari hai, to ye mera gift hai tere liye' (I told him, you finish it. But he said, I cannot give you anything else in this game. You have batted well, so this is my gift for you).
"I said 'that's very kind of you' and I accepted it. Hitting the winning runs is a wonderful feeling and I am grateful to him for allowing me the opportunity to hit them."
