Star India batter Virat Kohli has scored a couple of fifties so far in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. In fact, the former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain is among the top-10 batters of the season. But still, his strike rate and intent are being questioned by the experts. It all began after his 44-ball 61 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) earlier in the week. Kohli raced to 42 off just 25 balls but took 10 more deliveries to reach his half-century.
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Kohli’s struggle against the likes of Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi was visible. One he was dismissed, skipper Faf du Plessis and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell tore into the LSG bowling attack and notched up their respective fifties.
A fifty-plus score each by the top-three batters helped RCB set LSG a 213-run target. But former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull wasn’t happy with Kohli’s approach with the bat. The cricketer-turned-commentator said Kohli was concerned more about his personal milestone.
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“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," he said.
Now amid all the uproar, the man has spoken himself about his strike rate. Speaking with former batter Robin Uthappa in an interview for JioCinema, Kohli said it’s difficult for people on the outside to understand why batters often take it slow, especially after the completion of a strong powerplay.
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“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," Kohli told Robin Uthappa in an interview for JioCinema."
“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," he added.
The RCB are set to host the Delhi Capitals in their next fixture at M Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru on Saturday afternoon.
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