Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes a player doesn’t get back in form after playing one good knock. Manjrekar wants more from former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli, who scored a match-winning knock of 73 runs off just 54 balls in the last league stage match against Gujarat Titans in TATA IPL 2022.
Meanwhile, Kohli has struggled to get going in the ongoing season but he was seen at his best against Gujarat Titans. The talisman was pumped up during his match-winning knock and he will look to continue the same in the playoff stages.
This knock would have certainly added a shot in the arm for Virat Kohli and it will be imperative for Royal Challengers Bangalore that he scores big in the Eliminator contest against Lucknow Super Giants.
Kohli has scored 309 runs in 14 matches at an average of 23.77 and a strike rate of 117.93. The linchpin had provided a good start to the team along with Faf du Plessis in the previous match against Gujarat Titans and RCB will once again want a similar start.
Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo, “Virat Kohli has got that one inning but I don’t believe a player is back in form after just one innings. We’ll have to see one more innings in a pressure game then we’ll know whether or not Virat Kohli is back in form. The only thing is when Virat Kohli is scoring and then the big stage comes, he dominates completely. We’ll hope he picks up a long-term form to not only help his IPL side but also benefit the Indian team in a T20 World Cup season.”
Meanwhile, Kohli was getting off to starts in the previous matches but his strike rate was an issue. Furthermore, he didn’t have the rub of the green on his side in a lot of matches. However, Kohli batted with aplomb against GT in the last league stage game for RCB.
“Fans also read cricket really well. He was scoring 50s and 30s before as well, it’s not like he isn’t scoring runs at all like Rohit Sharma’s problem. But somewhere the fans knew that he wasn’t in form yet. But because of the way he batted and the strike rate he showed in the last match and not just runs but the way he scored those runs, the fans also assessed that Virat Kohli is back in form. The biggest thing is if Virat Kohli feels self-confident from the inside like before – he always looks confident from the outside – there’s no one better than him on the big stage.”
RCB will face LSG at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday.
