Virat Kohli’s mastery of the sweep shot has emerged as a crucial scoring weapon for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). After successfully countering the spin trio of Gujarat Titans with the sweep earlier this season, Kohli once again relied on this shot to dominate the bowling of Punjab Kings (PBKS).
In RCB’s recent victory over PBKS, Kohli’s slog-sweep and slog accounted for 26 of his 92 runs off 47 balls. This shot opened up other scoring options for him, allowing him to maintain a strike rate of 195.74. Despite being dropped twice, Kohli remained aggressive and led RCB to a formidable total of 241 for 7.
“I’ve brought out the slog-sweep to the spinners,” Kohli said after receiving the Player-of-the-Match award. “I just mentally put myself in that situation and I didn’t practice it at all. I know I can hit it because I’ve hit it a lot in the past.”
Kohli’s ability to execute the sweep shot has been a significant factor in RCB’s recent success. It has allowed him to score runs against spinners and expose the off-side field.
“For me, that has been a massive factor in this IPL,” Kohli added. “I think it just takes a bit more conviction and taking out that thought that props up: ‘what if you get out’. I’ve been managing to stay ahead of that thought in this IPL and that’s really helped me in the middle overs.”
Kohli’s knock helped RCB secure their fourth consecutive win, keeping them in contention for the playoffs. The team had previously endured a six-game losing streak after their victory over PBKS in their second match of the season.
RCB has since found a winning formula, both at home and away. Kohli believes that the one-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens was a turning point in their campaign.
“The only way to go through a long tournament is to be absolutely honest with yourself,” Kohli said. “We were just not good enough in the first half of the tournament. We had an honest chat in the change room. That’s not good enough. Playing at this level, we need to pull up our socks and be a bit more brave with the ball and bat.”
RCB captain Faf du Plessis echoed Kohli’s comments, praising the team’s batters and bowlers for adapting to the demands of the IPL.
“I think we’ve scored 200-plus in the last five-six games,” du Plessis said. “Really the method and aggression has been good to see. We had some really good conversations halfway through the season where we felt like we were making the same mistakes over and over again. We changed a bit of the method in the way we approach the game and aggression with the bat was certainly one of them.”
