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Royal Challengers Bangalore's Virat Kohli plays a shot during the Indian Premier League match against Delhi Capitals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Image Credit: AFP

Bengaluru: Star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, who played a match-winning knock in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 23-run win over Delhi Capitals in an IPL 2023 match on Saturday, said that he is very happy with the two points as it was crucial to bounce back after last losses in their last two matches.

Virat Kohli sparkled with the bat with a breezy 50 off 34 balls to help RCB post a competitive 174/6. Vijaykumar Vyshak then impressed on debut with a brilliant spell of 3-20 and along with Mohammed Siraj 2-23 helped RCB restrict DC to 151/9 in 20 overs at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Saturday.

“Very happy to get two points. We kind of let it slip away in the last two games. For us to bounce back like this was very crucial,” said Kohli at the post-match presentation.

Full toss

Though Kohli scored a fifty, he was disappointed with the way he got out on a full toss, adding that 175 was a good total on that pitch.

“I was quite disappointed that I got out to a full toss. I’ve been playing really well. I wanted to make sure that after fifty, I was targeting 30-35 runs off the next 10 balls. That’s how I play. That would’ve helped us get past 200,” he said.

“One thing I mentioned to the guys in the change room was that 175 was enough on this pitch. It slowed down considerably when the spinners came on. Even the balls hit the back foot off Kuldeep were holding up, unlike the other games we played. We did well to get to that score and had the belief it was enough,” he added.

Best cricket

The 34-year-old also revealed how he hit length balls for boundaries while playing his best cricket. He also recalled his famous shot off Australian pacer James Faulkner during the 2016 T20 World Cup, saying it was a different phase altogether.

“When I’ve played my best cricket, those are the balls I’ve put away consistently (length balls on the up). That helps me to put pressure on the bowlers. When I put away their best balls, they’re going to try to do something else. I back myself to hit good balls and the best bowlers in the opposition. That’s how I motivate myself to play out there,” said Kohli

“That was a different mentality and phase altogether (T20 World Cup 2016 semis). I was in a space where I felt I could hit any ball. I back myself to hit good shots. When they come off they look good,” he concluded.