India’s No.3 batsman, Virat Kohli, inspires confidence whenever he walks out to bat for the national side. The youngster has been especially impressive during chases and he played a significant role as India chased down 360 in Jaipur and then 351 in Nagpur against Australia to level the series.
His century in Nagpur helped India stay alive in the series, effectively making the last match, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the deciding game. While speaking to the media ahead of the seventh ODI, he wished the people of Bengaluru a happy Kannadiga Day (Kannada Rajyothsava) while also adding that the Garden City is his second home, after Delhi. Looking back on the series so far, he said, “It’s turned out to be a great series for our team in many ways, (given) the way we have fought back from different situations.”
“Personally, my form has been pleasing so far, but there is one more game to go. It has been a hard-fought series, but I have been pleased with my batting and hopefully I can do it again in the last game.”
Speaking about his own performance, he added, “When there’s a target to chase, it feels good. I can plan my innings better. You can analyse how you want to bat, you can calculate and play – which bowler to target and which bowler you can allow yourself a three-run over against. Even when I am batting first, I like to build big partnerships.”
Kohli has played a fair bit of cricket at Bengaluru and is the skipper of the Indian Premier League franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore, which plays its home games here. Speaking about the insights he has shared with MS Dhoni about this familiar venue ahead of the crucial game, he said, “I have already spoken to him about the kind of wicket we played on here in the IPL and given what inputs I could. (This is) that tiny bit of help that he would need, because he sort of knows everything all the time.”
“But other than that, we have to played good cricket to win at the end of the day. The wicket might be of any kind, the conditions might be of any kind, but as long as we play good cricket, we should be ending up on the right side,” he added.
Discussing the impact of the new ODI rules on fielding restrictions, which have favoured the batsmen, he said, “It all depends on the sort of conditions you are playing in. Last time we were playing in winter; the ball was doing quite a bit, so it was difficult for the batsmen to take on the bowlers from ball one. But I think this rule would have been exploited sooner rather than later.”
“When you have five fielders inside the circle, the part-time bowler is out of contention totally, which used to be a big weapon in one-day cricket before. If you see, Yuvraj Singh bowled well for us in so many games – there were four fielders inside. But none of the teams can use a part-time bowler now because of the fifth fielder rule. In conditions, which are batting-friendly, it is very hard for the captain to contain those runs. It’s been difficult for bowlers from both sides. At the end of the day, it is the ICC’s decision to give us the rules we should abide and play by them,” he added.
“In one-day cricket in the subcontinent, obviously your batting will always be your strength. But if your bowlers are not confident, the team’s winning momentum will be harmed, because more often than not you win matches because of your bowling. But if your bowlers aren’t confident, it becomes very difficult, especially for the captain. If you are conceding two fours in an over, the bowler doesn’t understand where to bowl and the captain doesn’t know what field to set when five fielders are inside,” he added.
Speaking about the visitors, he said, “Even when you look at their team, their fast bowlers are keeping thirdman and fine-leg up while bowling – this, when they are bowling at upwards of 140 kph. You can imagine what mindset will exist because of this rule. It has been quite difficult for the bowlers in the series, but as long as these are the rules, you have to play by them.”
The top-order batsman also credited openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma for the platforms that they have laid during successful chases. While talking about Dhawan’s evolution as a batsman, he observed, “His batting was tremendous right from the Under-19 days. He was a standout performer all the time. But I think his thinking has evolved a lot in the last year and a half. He is so sure about his game now, he knows where he’d score his runs, he is sure of his own batting and his own strengths. I think that’s the most important thing in international cricket that you’re sure about what you want to do out in the middle. And he is mentally very strong now. He has become much more aware of his own strengths. That’s working beautifully for him. But he has always been a special talent and you can see it for India now. He is a match-winner. You would see him winning more games for India in the future. I am glad he is doing so well at the top.”
