NEW DELHI: RCB's star opener Virat Kohli on Thursday expressed that his synergy with Faf du Plessis bears a striking resemblance to his previous partnership with the legendary AB de Villiers.
Virat's scintillating innings of 100 runs off 63 balls played a pivotal role in his team's emphatic eight-wicket victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad. Virat was adjuged Man of the Match for his match-winning century.
When asked about his partnership with Faf, Virat said: "When I can make an impact in an important game, it gives me confidence, it gives the team confidence. I think it's the tattoos (secret behind partnership with Faf). We almost have 900 runs together this season. Very similar to how I used to feel with AB and me batting together. Just an understanding of where the game is going and what needs to be done. Having an experienced guy who's captained at the international level - it's been a beautiful transition for us coming together for RCB at the top and making an impact."
Talking about the crowd support for RCB in Hyderabad, Kohli said that it felt like a home game and it's "amazing" to provide happiness to so many people.
"Crowd here was amazing today as well. Told Faf as well. Just felt like it was a home game for us. They were cheering for us, taking my name as well. I feel you can't create this. I haven't forced anyone to follow me or be inspired by me. I'm just myself on the field. I do everything on the field very honestly and I think that resonates with people. It's an amazing position to be in that you can provide happiness to so many people. That's something I love to see when they have a smile on their face when I perform," the Indian batter said.
Virat also said that he does not give much credit to himself as he is always on stress to perform.
1/10:IPL: Virat, du Plessis keep RCB afloat
IANS
2/10:Centurions
<p>Virat Kohli's century stole the thunder from Heinrich Klaasen's maiden IPL ton as RCB kept their playoff hopes alive with an 8-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (Photo: RCB Twitter)<br /></p>Agencies
3/10:Maiden Ton
<p>It was the Klaasen show first, as the South African smashed 6 sixes & 8 fours to hit a sensational 104 off 51 balls to power SRH to 186/5 (Photo: BCCI/IPL)<br /></p>ANI
4/10:Joint Venture
<p>Kohli (100 off 63 balls) & Faf du Plessis (71 off 47) then continued their rich form to stitch a 172-run opening partnership & RCB won with 4 balls to spare (Photo: BCCI/IPL)<br /></p>PTI
5/10:Take a bow
<p>The win lifted RCB to No. 4 with 14 points and a better net run-rate than Mumbai Indians, who are also on 14 points (Photo: RCB Twitter)<br /></p>Agencies
6/10:King Kohli
<p>With his 6th IPL century, Virat equalled the record for most IPL hundreds, which until now was exclusively in Chris Gayle's name (Photo: BCCI/IPL)</p>PTI
7/10:Thank you, lord
<p>Kohli completed his hundred with a six off Bhuvneshwar before getting dismissed off the next ball. Du Plessis fell soon after to T Natarajan (Photo: BCCI/IPL)<br /></p>IANS
8/10:Partnerships
<p>After being asked to bat, Klaasen led the SRH batting chart & added 76 runs with Aiden Markram (18) & 74 runs with Harry Brook (27 not out) to take SRH to a competitive total (Photo: BCCI/IPL)<br /></p>AFP
9/10:Wicket-taker
<p>Michael Bracewell struck twice for RCB, removing openers Abishek Sharma (11) and Rahul Tripathi (15) in his first three balls (Photo: BCCI/IPL)<br /></p>TOI Sports
10/10:Not his day
<p>Karn Sharma was the most expensive among RCB bowlers, leaking 45 runs off his 3 overs without a wicket (Photo: BCCI/IPL)<br /></p>Agencies"Was telling the boys - the way I'm looked at as an IPL player as well is like 'yeah, he's fine, few impact knocks'. It's my 6th IPL hundred. I don't give myself enough credit sometimes because I put myself under so much stress already. I don't care what anyone says on the outside. That's their opinion. When you're in that situation yourself, you know how to win games of cricket. I've done that over a long period of time. It's not like when I play I don't win games for my team. It's playing the situation that I take pride in," he continued.
"Quite special considering the magnitude of the game. Thought SRH got a very good score. Ball was gripping as well. We wanted a good solid start. Didn't expect to be 172/0. But that's how well Faf and me have played this season. Faf's been on a different level. I've had a quiet couple of games. The way I was hitting in the nets wasn't transitioning into the middle in the last 2-3 matches. Wanted to make an impact and my intent was to go after the bowlers from ball 1 - something I've done through the season. There was a dip but I wanted to pick my game up at the right time. Never look at past records (not great numbers against SRH)," Virat added.
