Published: Apr 20, 2018, 12:37 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 20, 2018, 12:36 PM (IST)
India started off the year 2018 on a forgettable note losing the three-match Test series by 1-2. Yet, Virat Kohli held his head high topping the Tests and ODIs run-scorers list. He scored 286 runs from 6 matches at 47.67 in Tests. AB de Villiers followed the Indian skipper scoring 211 runs from 35.17. In ODIs, Kohli piled on as many as 558 runs at 186 with strike rate of 99.47.
India responded to the 1-2 Test series loss with 5-1 win over South Africa in the ODIs. Kohli revealed the secret of his success in the South Africa tour. He credited his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate for the same. Here is how:
“I actually learnt something from him in the recent Test series that we played. I made that adjustment to my game, which I haven’t told him about yet. I used to tap my bat right at the end before playing a ball which worked for me in the shorter format where the ball was not moving that much. But then I saw him playing Bumrah and ball beating him but the ball won’t hit him because he was so correct with what he was doing. And then I wondered as to why I was edging the ball. I then went back and analysed and saw how still his head was. I then stopped tapping the bat and it made my head more still and I started scoring runs in the Test after that,” he told NDTV.
India had also won the three-match T20I series by 2-1 against South Africa. Today, de Villiers and Kohli share a great rapport on and off the field for RCB in VIVO IPL 2018.
They have managed to rescue RCB from ruins in 2018 IPL thus far. Even RCB’s fielding coach termed Kohli, de Villiers the Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer of cricket.
Where de Villiers’ fifty handed RCB their only win in the 2018 IPL, Kohli’s unbeaten 92 against Mumbai Indians (MI) while chasing 214 was the only highlight from RCB’s innings.
