25 April,2022 08:52 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh Mayure
RCB’s Virat Kohli walks back dejected after being dismissed for a duck by SRH’s Marco Jansen on Saturday. Pic/BCCI; IPL
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) coach Sanjay Bangar is confident that Virat Kohli is due for a big innings soon. However, the former Team India batting coach indicated that Kohli also needs some rub of the green. The former RCB captain managed just 119 from eight games in IPL-15 including two successive golden ducks, the second one coming against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday.
"He [Kohli] is certainly not taking the pressure getting to him in that sense. I mean, he is enjoying the game, enjoying the skill sessions. He needs a bit of luck to get going because all the dismissals have been [on the] first ball or second ball. I am pretty sure once he gets going, he gets his start, he is due for a big one," Bangar said during a post-match virtual press conference on Saturday night.
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Kohli failed to counter Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) South African left-arm pacer Marco Jansen's (3-25) swing and edged the ball to second slip fielder Aiden Markram off the very first ball he faced. RCB were bowled out for just 68 in 16.1 overs and then SRH convincingly chased the target with nine wickets to spare in eight overs.
"He is going through a couple of rough patches, maybe things are not going his way at the moment. He started the season really well. He nearly hit the winning runs in the Pune game [48 v Mumbai Indians].
He has not been totally off-colour. We have all gone through such phases. It's a tough phase for him certainly, but we are confident he will come back strong," Bangar remarked.
Jansen, 21, went wicketless in his previous game against Punjab Kings (0-35), but bowled a dream over in which he had fellow South African - RCB skipper Faf du Plessis (5) and Kohli (0) - off successive balls. He then sent back left-hander Anuj Rawat (0), caught at slip by Markram off the last ball of the over. When the official broadcaster asked Jansen about his best dismissal, he didn't choose Kohli's. "I assumed the ball was going to swing properly after the primary ball I bowled. The second ball was angled through the right-hander [Kohli]. However, I probably loved the third wicket the most [Rawat]. That is the perfect spell I've bowled with the white ball up to now."
119
No. of runs scored by Virat Kohli in IPL-15
