Virat Kohli acknowledges the applause after scoring a match-winning half-century against Gujarat Titans.
A day before the game against Gujarat Titans, Virat Kohli asserted that he still has the drive and hunger to play cricket at the highest level.
And the former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper was finally back among the runs as Kohli slammed a match-winning half-century to keep his team in contention for a play-offs berth.
It was Kohli of the old. Driving down the ground, running hard between the wickets as one of the modern-day greats produced an innings of substance to bring cheer among his millions of fans. Kohli needed the rub of the green go his way and RCB Director of Cricket Mike Hesson revealed how Kohli's hard work has finally paid off.
"The fact that he (Virat) was working so hard in the nets and trying to find rhythm away from the playing games, away from the contest, allowed him to keep that confidence up," Hesson said.
Kohli not scoring runs wasn't a big worry but the manner in which he was getting dismissed was a metter of concern. And Hesson did admit that Kohli was indeed facing the pressure.
"But no doubt when you go through a patch like that - he is only human, you know then you do start to just having doubts and wonder when your luck is going to turn.
So look, a little bit of luck tonight but he's certainly earned it throughout this IPL," Hesson said.
Although RCB's chances of progressing ahead depends on other permutations and combinations, Hesson was delighted by Kohli's knock.
"Look, I am absolutely delighted. Just shows like, (in) any team if you get the top-order firing and (have) a player like Virat, then it makes the rest of the chase a lot easier.
"And obviously chasing scores here has not been our forte so far in this IPL. We have been able to defend scores, but haven't been able to chase," Hesson said.
The former New Zealand coach credited Kohli for setting up the tone.
"We know Virat is the chase-master and he set the tone again today. It was a crucial game for us and the big players stood up. We know when Virat is in that frame of mind, good luck (to the opposition), because he can take the game away from anyone," he said.
