After the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lost to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Virat Kohli’s strike rate became a hot topic of discussion. Simon Doull, a former New Zealand cricketer and a well-known commentator, was critical of Kohli for slowing down after the powerplay. Doull said during the game on air:
“Virat Kohli started off like a train. He was hammering shots. But from 42 to 40, they took 10 balls. He’s concerned about his personal milestone. I don’t think there’s room for that in this game anymore. You’ve just got to keep going, especially with wickets in hand at that stage. You’ve got to keep going.”
During a recent chat with former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa on Jio Cinema, Virat Kohli discussed the significant role of an anchor in T20 cricket and the difficulties that come with it. He said:
“Yeah, for sure (important anchor role). I completely agree with that; There are many people who, because they have not been in that situation themselves, look at the game differently.”
Virat Kohli opened up on batters ‘slowing down’ post powerplay
Virat Kohli discussed how the dynamics of a cricket game change once the powerplay fielding restrictions have been lifted. He noted that it is natural for batters to take a few overs to settle in and rotate the strike to understand better how to handle a certain bowler during the middle overs. He stated:
“Suddenly, when the powerplay is done, they will be like ‘, Oh, they have started rotating the strike’. When you haven’t lost a wicket in the powerplay, usually the best player comes on to bowl; you are trying to figure out what to do against him in the first two overs so that you can get big ones in the last two overs of that guy and then rest of the innings become much easier.”
Kohli scored another half-century against the Delhi Capitals on Saturday.