Virat Kohli Is Only Human, He Needs Luck To Come Good Too: Mike Hesson

OutlookIndia

Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell kept Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League playoff hunt with a resounding eight-wicket win over the first-place Gujarat Titans in Mumbai on Thursday. Virat Kohli notched his season-best of 73 and Maxwell smashed an unbeaten 43 off just 18 balls as Bangalore cruised to 170-2 with eight balls to spare in its last league game. RCB's director of cricket Mike Hesson was happy that Kohli the 'chasemaster' was finally back among runs. (Video and images courtesy IPL)  #ViratKholi #GlennMaxwell #IPL2022 #Cricket #RCB  Follow this story and more: https://www.outlookindia.com/

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 Congratulations on the victory tonight, coach.

00:21 My question to you is, when the going gets tough,

00:23 the tough gets going.

00:24 How happy are you with how Virat Kohli batted today

00:27 and almost finished the game for your team?

00:30 Look, absolutely delighted.

00:31 I think it just shows, like any team,

00:33 if you hit the top order firing and a player like Virat,

00:36 then it makes the rest of the chase a lot easier.

00:38 And obviously, chasing scores here hasn't been our forte

00:41 so far in this IPL.

00:42 We've sort of been able to defend scores,

00:44 but haven't been able to chase.

00:46 So I think we know Virat's the chase master.

00:48 And obviously, he set the tone again today.

00:51 So obviously, a crucial game for us.

00:53 And as you said, I guess the big players stand up, don't they?

00:57 We all watched the RCB Insider today,

00:58 where Virat said that there isn't anything different

01:01 to work on, because there isn't any specific pattern

01:03 to his dismissal.

01:04 So I mean, someone like you, who's

01:06 watched him from close quarters for so many years,

01:09 did you notice any change in his approach, in his intent?

01:12 Because he himself mentioned that negative thoughts

01:15 were creeping in.

01:16 Or would you say that the luck that eluded him

01:17 for so many matches was on his side tonight?

01:20 Oh, look, I think there was a patch of games

01:22 through the middle where pretty much everything he did--

01:26 it started in LB in Pune.

01:28 And then from that point on, he got run out a couple of times.

01:31 Obviously, the one that went off the hip.

01:33 He pretty much found each and every way to get out.

01:35 So he's right.

01:37 There certainly wasn't a pattern to those dismissals.

01:39 The fact that he was working so hard in the nets

01:41 and trying to find that rhythm away from the playing games,

01:45 away from, I guess, the contest, allowed him

01:49 to keep that confidence up.

01:51 But no doubt, when you go through a bit of a patch

01:55 like that, he's only human.

01:57 And you do start to just have the odd doubt

01:59 and wonder when your luck's going to turn.

02:00 So lucky he had a little bit of luck tonight.

02:02 But he certainly earned it throughout this IPL.

02:06 First of all, that goal he faced, he took a single.

02:09 And he was trying to pinch and run.

02:11 It felt like he came out with a sort of different kind

02:14 of intent today.

02:15 So can you say a few words about the mindset with which he

02:19 approached today's games?

02:21 Well, I think we could see from the sideline, couldn't we,

02:23 from the dugout that he brought a huge amount of intensity

02:25 out there.

02:26 So whether Faf was on strike, played a good shot,

02:28 or rotated the strike, he was very much in the game.

02:32 So obviously, he had a little bit of an inside edge

02:35 and a bit of a fist pump.

02:36 As I said, he just needed that little bit of luck

02:38 just to go his way.

02:39 And then we knew he'd be away.

02:40 But I think we know when Virat's in that frame of mind,

02:44 good luck, because he can take the game away from anyone.

02:47 Hi, Mike.

02:49 There seems to be a lot of bonding

02:51 between among your senior players,

02:54 be it Maxi, DK, Virat, and Faf.

02:59 And the bonding between Faf and Virat

03:02 in the middle was inescapable.

03:04 Actually, cricketing Brahmans was quite a spectacle.

03:07 Can you say something?

03:08 They seem to enjoy each other's success and everything.

03:11 Look, they do.

03:12 And I think the fact that they've

03:14 been able to bat together and get

03:16 such a meaningful contribution today in such a big game

03:20 was important for both of them.

03:21 But yeah, you're right.

03:22 Throughout the whole campaign, they've

03:23 worked very closely together.

03:25 Obviously, Virat's been captain here for so long.

03:28 The fact that Faf's come in and they've automatically

03:30 had that bond from previous relationships.

03:33 So yeah, look, they've been a big part

03:36 of that senior group on the field, along with DK and Maxi,

03:38 as you've alluded to.

03:40 And look, they have a lot of fun out there.

03:42 And that's important in a competition like this,

03:44 where you do have your ups and downs.

03:46 So yeah, I think they'll be good friends for a long time.

03:49 [AUDIO OUT]

03:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Transcript

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