Sunil Gavaskar, a former India cricketer, said on Saturday that Virat Kohli’s half-century against Gujarat Titans in the IPL game on Saturday will serve as a much-needed confidence boost for the batter as well as his team Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Several former cricketers, including ex-India coach Ravi Shastri, have suggested that Kohli take a break from the game, but the former RCB captain showed signs of returning to form in the match against Gujarat Titans.
Kohli finally scored a half-century after a string of failures (0, 0, 9 in his previous three innings), and Gavaskar said the fifty came at the right time for him and will serve as a confidence booster for the batter.
Playing second fiddle to Rajat Patidar, who scored 52 runs in 52 balls, Kohli hit some well-timed boundaries for his 53-ball 58. The pair added 99 runs for the second wicket, assisting RCB to a total of 170/6.
“It was a knock that he needed; it was a knock that RCB wanted as well. Once you get going and get a fifty, it augurs well for the remaining matches as well. Your main man is hitting the ball cleanly, the feet are moving into position quite nicely. It’s a confidence-building innings. Definitely, as far as the RCB is concerned, they will be very, very happy,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
RCB captain Faf du Plessis also praised the efforts of Kohli, “It was a huge step in the right direction to get a solid 50. You want one of your top-four to get the 70s in the future, so it’s good.”
The Royal Challengers Bangalore will next face the Chennai Super Kings on May 4, and the team will be hoping Kohli continues to get runs as they cannot afford any more slip-ups in the tournament.
(Inputs from IANS)