India batting coach Vikram Rathour revealed that the coaches just help Virat Kohli do his preparations as he knows cricket and his own game. Kohli reached unimaginable heights on Wednesday when he hit his 50th ODI century, passing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in terms of most tonnes in the game.
Kohli hit 117 here at Wankhede Stadium, propelling India to a huge 397 for 4, the highest-ever total for any team in World Cup knockout games history. Shreyas Iyer made 105, Shubman Gill made 80*, and Rohit Sharma scored 47*.
In response, New Zealand managed 327 with Daryl Mitchell making 134 and Mohammad Shami taking 7/57. India qualified for the final of the ICC World Cup 2023 which will be played in Ahmedabad on Sunday, November 19.
"He (Kohli) understands his cricket and we just help him prepare. If he needs to ask anything he comes and asks, otherwise we let him be. He knows what he has to do now, that he needs to get in the right mind space and he is in a good mind space. He bats the way he wants to,” Rathour told media on Wednesday.
Rathour said the mood in the dressing room was of delight as Kohli's century propelled India into the first World Cup final in 12 years.
"More importantly winning the semifinal and getting into the final, that was good. Of course, Virat scoring his 50th hundred was special. He keeps working hard on his cricket and fitness. He is still really hungry to score more runs," he said.
Rathour said being able to execute their plans well has been the success mantra of the team under Rohit Sharma.
"They all have been working hard and prepared well for this tournament. It is good to see that all the game plans have been executed well. We always believed that we have a very well-settled and intelligent batting group. We adapted very well to the conditions and situations," he said.
Rathour credited the Indian team management for maintaining players like Mohammed Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin in the proper frame of mind despite the fact that the two senior campaigners haven't played enough matches.
"He (Shami) is a special bowler, he is bowling really well. The reason why he missed the first few games is due to the combination we were looking to play - it was tough to get him into the team. The credit again to the management, he was in a great mind space even when he was not playing. We can see the best spinner in the world sitting out," he said.
Rathour further added that extra work is being put in with tailenders to enhance their batting abilities since Hardik Pandya got injured and India is playing one batter short.
"Since we had an injury to Hardik, we knew that our batting may be slightly short. Those are the four people I have been really working hard with. They have been working hard, they actually ask to get batting (practice)," he said.
(PTI inputs)
