Kohli's consistent batting puts pressure on bowlers

Virat Kohli played a vital role in providing his team with a strong foundation to build upon in the match against DC.

The Indian cricket legend smashed his third fifty of the tournament, scoring a well-crafted 50 runs off 34 deliveries. Kohli's innings was studded with six boundaries and a solitary six.

Kohli's knock was the cornerstone of the RCB innings, and it helped them post a competitive total on the board. He had been adjudged the player-of-the-match for his 34-ball 50 and three catches during DC's run chase, but rued that he was not able to score big. "I was quite disappointed that I got out to a full toss. I had been playing really well, and after I got to 50, I was targeting 30-35 runs in the next 10 balls," Kohli had said.

At one point, RCB were looking at a 200-plus total, but they could not finish well and lost wickets in a heap in the back end. Kohli had said that RCB's total was enough as the wicket slowed down. "It felt like 175 was enough on this pitch. It felt like it slowed down," he had said.

Kohli had said that whenever he played his best cricket, he would consistently put away good balls, and that would, in turn, put pressure on the bowlers. The RCB star had said that he backed himself to hit good shots.

"When I've played my best cricket, those are the balls I've put away consistently. When I put away their best balls, it puts pressure on the bowlers. We kind of let it slip away the last two games. That was a different mentality and phase altogether (T20 World Cup 2016 semis). I back myself to hit good shots. When they come off, they look good," Kohli had said.

• IPL 2023