'Had a special chat with AB de Villiers; Anushka spoke to me, before the game,' says Virat Kohli
Indian skipper Virat Kohli said that he wanted to come back to the basics of the game and not think about too many variables after scoring 73*
Indian skipper and the chase master Virat Kohli was back at it again in the second T20I against England as he remained unbeaten on 73 runs off just 49 balls to see India through and level the series 1-1. After a string of low scores and getting out for a duck in the first game, Kohli regained his mojo as along with Ishan Kishan, he laid India's foundation to help them chase down the score of 165 with 13 balls to spare. After the match, he said that he had a special chat with his RCB teammate AB de Villiers and his wife and actor Anushka Sharma, who is with him during the series, spoke to him about a few things, before the game.
Asked about what he did differently in this game, at the post-match presentation, Kohli said, "I had to shift the focus back to the basics of the game. [I was] probably thinking of too many other variables on the outside. What I wanted to do before I entered the field. I have always taken pride in doing the job for the team and I'm more happy about that rather than the fact that I scored 70-odd. Just kept my eye on the ball.
"The management spoke to me about things, Anushka is here with me so she speaks to me about a lot of things. So yeah, when you have your family with you, they keep talking to you, keep you focussed on what you need to do right and then your management's so good. Then, I had a special chat with AB de Villiers before this game, so he told me 'just watch the ball' and that's exactly what I did," the skipper added.
Kohli, came in the second over after India lost the wicket of KL Rahul on the last ball of the first over which was a maiden, bowled by Sam Curran. After which, Kishan took apart the England bowling attack and Kohli slowly settled down into his zone and the first pull shot he hit gave the message that it was his night.
Kohli reached his half-century and stayed till the end to help his side get over the line. On the way to his 73* run knock, he also became the first male cricketer to score 3000 runs in the T20I format. By the virtue of this win, India levelled the series and the third game of the five-match series will take place on Tuesday, March 16.