RCB Champion: Kohli revealed the secret of winning the IPL trophy for the second consecutive time, told what is the real strength of the team?

Ahmedabad: Indian superstar Virat Kohli, after scoring his fastest half-century in the IPL and leading Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to their second consecutive trophy, said that he had to change his thinking to reshape his game in the T20 format and in the meantime the young players also inspired him.

Kohli made the team champion for the second consecutive time by hitting a brilliant six against Arshad Khan on the last ball of the 18th over. Kohli was adjudged Player of the Match after playing an unbeaten inning of 75 runs in 42 balls with the help of nine fours and three sixes. “This is the moment every player dreams of,” he said at the awards ceremony. I had imagined this moment many times, especially scoring the winning run. I was completely comfortable when I came out to bat.” Kohli said, “I knew what to do in the run-chase. The presence of young players inspires you to constantly improve your game and accept new challenges.”

On scoring the fastest half-century (25 balls) of his IPL career, he said, “It gives you the aim to continuously improve. I didn’t have to make any major changes in my game, but I had to change my thinking. There was a need to score extra runs by putting pressure on the bowlers.” Kohli said that the team’s first goal was to achieve the top position in the points table. He said, “Once we reached the top, it did not matter which team was in front of us. We respect all teams and do not believe in provoking anyone. We have experienced and mature professional players and this experience comes in handy in big matches.

He said, “On big occasions, big players have to come forward and take responsibility. I knew that while chasing the target, the opposition team would try to get me out early, but I had full faith in my team. I was confident that our champion team could achieve the target with three-four overs remaining.

Praising RCB fans, Kohli said, “For us, every match feels like a home match. We have 14 home matches, not just seven, because the fans are with us everywhere. Even at the home ground of Gujarat Titans, about 90 percent of the spectators were in our support. Earlier, he told the broadcasters that the biggest strength of the current RCB team is that it has many match-winning players and they do not need to go ahead alone and fulfill the responsibility every time.

“We had to wait for this moment for a very long time,” he said. Now we have such a group with whom, when you come on the field, you feel that you do not have to step forward and take responsibility every time. There are players in the team who stand with you and can win the match for you.” Kohli scored 675 runs in 16 matches this season at an average of 56.25 and an excellent strike rate of 165.84 and played an important role in the team becoming the champion. However, he gave credit for the victory to the entire team.

This great batsman said, “There are many match-winning players in our team, which is proof that the contribution is not limited to just one or two players.” Kohli praised the team’s bowling attack and said, “We have world-class bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy and Krunal Pandya. Krunal has always been reliable, while Rasikh Salam Dar has performed brilliantly this season. He said that the team’s batsmen have also contributed when needed and this balance is the biggest strength of RCB.

Kohli said, “I feel very happy to be a part of this group. We have balance, depth and we are a strong team in every department. This is why our confidence on the field also appears to be of a different level.” Admitting that the pressure of the final this time is different compared to last year, Kohli said that the team had full confidence in its ability. He said, “I told some players that this time they are not feeling the same pressure as last year. We knew how much potential our group had. We topped the points table and there was a reason for it. We just said one thing that if we play our natural cricket and implement the plans properly then we will be the best team in the competition.

Kohli said that the skill, maturity and patience shown by the team throughout the season resulted in title success. He said that the team faced some difficult situations after the short break in the middle of the season, but the close win against Mumbai Indians reinvigorated the confidence of the players. Kohli said, “After the break we suffered a defeat and had to play a very close match against Mumbai Indians. That week was challenging for us because we wanted to be on top in the league stage. But the team’s confidence returned after the win against Mumbai. “We then registered an impressive win against Kolkata Knight Riders, topped the table and then reached the finals.”