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‘I can keep going, no issues at all’ – Virat Kohli after winning first MOM award in IPL 2022
By SMCS - May 20, 2022 11:40 am
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Former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli was named man-of-the-match for the first time in the IPL 2022 after his quickfire 54-ball 73 and helped his side register an 8-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. However, Kohli said that he was happy to contribute to a crucial victory for them who needed a victory to finish the league stages with 16 points and also added that he could just keep going without having any issues at all.

Virat Kohli

“I can keep going, there are no issues at all. It was an important game,” Kohli told Star Sports after winning the man-of-the-match award. “I was disappointed that I have not done enough for the team. Today (Thursday) was a game where I was able to create an impact for the team.. this puts us in a good position. You need to keep the perspective right. You can forget the process in order to live up to the expectations. I have worked really hard. I batted 90 minutes in the nets yesterday (Wednesday). I came in very free and relaxed,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.”

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Meanwhile, Virat Kohli has said that he felt like himself with the bat with the very first shot he played off Mohammed Shami as well and then scored his highest score of the season as well. He also hit 8 fours and 2 sixes as well. However, he had faced a lean patch throughout the tournament before RCB’s final league match against Gujarat Titans.

“With the very first shot of Shami, I felt I could hit lengths balls over the fielder’s head. I knew that tonight was the night when I could kick on. It has been wonderful that I have got so much support in this edition. I am forever grateful to all the love that I have never seen before,” Kohli said.

virat kohli
Virat Kohli was delighted after RCB’s win

Meanwhile, Kohli had three golden ducks and had hit a half-century against GT in their previous match as well. While speaking to captain Faf du Plessis after RCB’s win over GT, Kohli joked that they might be at the stands, cheering for Mumbai Indians when they play against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.

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“Trying to put our feet up and chill out for 2 days and support Mumbai. We have 2 more supporters for Mumbai, not just 2 but I think 25 more supporters,” Kohli said in an interview for the IPL. “You might see us in the stadium as well. For me, the best about batting together, opening the innings has been the experience that we have shared out there in the middle. Applying that experience to give the team starts is something that I am proud of. We just sync together very nicely from the first season itself which is a great thing for the team.”

“I think it has been a challenging time, there is no doubt about it. A lot of things that are not controllable on the field, you experience that for the first time. So I have experienced that in this season. But one thing that stood out to me about yesterday (Wednesday) was my preparation. I batted for about 90 minutes in the nets on the go. All I was trying to do was get into a positive frame of mind. For every ball that I played, I wasn’t looking if the ball was seaming or swinging or turning, I was just watching the ball and reacting and giving myself the most positive option possible. I just extended that into the game,” Virat Kohli concluded.