India batter Virat Kohli celebrated his second consecutive ODI century as he made 113 runs against Sri Lanka in the first ODI at Guwahati on January 10 and helped the Men in Blue take a 1-0 lead in the three-ODI series.
Kohli had previously scored a century against Bangladesh in the third and final ODI of the series and now hit his 45th ODI century and 73rd overall in international cricket. Ever since returning to form in Asia Cup with his maiden T20I century against Afghanistan last year, Kohli is slowly regaining his status of ‘run machine’.
But this all has come after three years of a barren patch in all formats where he didn’t score any international century from November 2019 onwards, till his T20I ton in Asia Cup 2022. He struggled to find the three-figure scores but was contributing with half-centuries, but in 2021, those dried up as well.
This led to Kohli taking a short break after England tour in July 2021 and coming back refreshed for the Asia Cup in September, spending the entire August with his family away from cricket.
After his match-winning 45th ODI ton in the opener against Sri Lanka, Kohli admitted being in complete denial about his "vulnerabilities" and "frustrations" during his poor run of form.
"In my case, in denial, frustration was creeping in. I was very cranky, very snappy in my space. It was not fair on (wife) Anushka (Sharma), my close ones, its not fair on the people who support you. So I had to take responsibility and kind of put things in perspective," Kohli told teammate Suryakumar Yadav in an interview for bcci.tv.
"I was far off from my cricket. My attachments, my desire, had totally taken over. That's when I realised that I can't be away from who I am. I have to be true to myself. Even when I am vulnerable, I am not playing well, I am the worst player around, I have to accept it. I can't be in denial," Kohli admitted his frailties.
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He further added that one must take a step or two backwards when desperation to score creeps into the game and you are struggling.
"When I came back relaxed for the Asia Cup, I started enjoying the practice. I started enjoying training again. Which is how I have always played my cricket. What I will say is that if you feel a little bit of desperation, always take two steps back, rather than pushing more and more. Because then things will start to go away from you,” he said.
He said that now he is happy with his form and would like to continue building on it.
He said: “I am just happy... in the last two years I didn't have such a start. It was the first match of the year and I got a century, so hopefully, I can build on this because it is also a World Cup year and there is a big Test series coming against Australia.
When you score runs in any match, it gives you confidence. I am happy I was able to almost bat through the innings, to give the team 20-30 extra runs with dew coming in. I am just happy and excited to play."
He even gave Suryakumar Yadav, who is currently the no.1 batter in T20I rankings, advice on dealing with failures and pressure.
"Sometimes what happens, you (Surya) will also experience it as you play more and more now, people look at you differently. When Surya goes out to play, people will say that Surya will do it. To keep up with it is an intense process," he said.
The second ODI will be played on January 12 in Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
(PTI inputs)
