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Virat Kohli was again part of the debate, this time for his knock of 51 off 43 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) where he finished with a strike rate of 118.60.
He scored 32 runs from his first 18 balls but slowed down during the middle overs to add the remaining 19 runs in 25 balls, however Royal Challengers Bengaluru finished as the winning side.
The India No.3 replied to his critics with an unbeaten 70* off 44 balls against Gujarat Titans on Sunday afternoon. He batted at a strike rate of 159.09 and hit six fours and three sixes.
"All the people who talk about strike rates and me not playing spin well are the ones who love talking about this stuff. But for me, it's just about winning the game for the team," Kohli said in the post-match interview after the game.
"And there's a reason why you do it for 15 years – because you've done this day in [and] day out; you've won games for your teams."
Spin has troubled Kohli before yesterday in this season of IPL. Before the Titans match, he had scored only 38 runs off 37 balls against spin in the Powerplay.
Keeping this match-up in mind, Shubman Gill, the Gujarat skipper, got Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore to bowl the fifth and sixth over of the Powerplay.
Kohli hit Rashid for a four off his second delivery against him but it was the Kishore over that settled the ‘spin debate’ once and for all. The India veteran took Kishore down with two back-to-back sixes – one over long-off on the back foot and the second over mid-wicket that he celebrated with a punch in the air. Kohli was smiling again.
Montage of Virat Kohli in action as he breaks the record for the most runs scored at all ICC Men's T20 World Cups
"I am not quite sure if you've been in that situation yourself to sit and speak about the game from a box. I don't really think it's the same thing [as playing out there]," Kohli said.
"So for me, it's just about doing my job. People can talk about their own ideas and assumptions of the game, but those who have done it day in [and] day out know what's happening, and it's kind of a muscle memory for me now."
The former India captain scored 61 runs off 34 balls against the spin attack that boasted of Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, and Sai Kishore at a strike rate of 179.41. 22 of those 61 runs came in using sweep shots – a stroke Kohli is rarely seen deploying.
Kohli also went past the 500-run mark in an IPL season for the seventh time – joint-most along with David Warner – and is currently the orange cap holder.
He also finished the most recent ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022 as the leading run-scorer with 296 runs from six innings and will be key in India's success at this year's tournament which would be his sixth appearance at the marquee event.
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