Virat Kohli boasts of a phenomenal record while chasing in limited-overs cricket.
During the 90s, while he was growing up, Virat Kohli felt at grief over each and every Indian defeat, and there were a lot of them, especially while chasing in ODIs, as the team lacked confidence and ability to handle the pressure of chasing, either side of Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli, who is now a modern-day great across all formats, "used to think if I was there, I would have won the match" and that has stuck with him.
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"When it comes to chasing targets, my mental state is simple -- if someone says something to me from the opposition side, then I get more motivated. When I was younger, I used to watch matches on television. If India did not end up winning the match while chasing targets, I used to think if I was there, I would have won the match," the Indian skipper told Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal during a Facebook live chat.
"Chasing is a situation where you know how many runs you have to score. For me winning is important. While chasing I think I can walk out not out. At that time I think I can make the team win. If the target is 370/380, I never feel like that it cannot be done."
While the Indian team now has more meat to its batting for an anchor like Kohli to take the game deep and go for victories, it is still remarkable how assured he tends to look while chasing targets. For Kohli himself, it has been about simplifying the task at hand and adjusting accordingly.
"There was a game in Hobart against Sri Lanka, where we had to chase 330 odd in 40 overs to qualify for the finals. I discussed with Raina that we will set up the chase as if we are playing two T20 matches," he recalled.
Kohli has been part of 142 ODI run-chases in his career so far and averages 68.33, with a strike-rate of 94.35 for 7,039 runs, including 26 hundreds, in those matches.
Among those, 89 have been successful chases, where Kohli's record gives an astonishing read: 5,388 runs at an average of 96.21, strike-rate of 97.26, with 22 tons, 22 half-centuries.
(Inputs from ANI)