Not at any stage was I thinking about a hundred: Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli notched up his maiden T20 and IPL century against the Gujarat Lions at Rajkot. Kohli’s knock of 100* came in just 63 balls and helped the RCB side to post a total of 180 on the board. However, some brash and brutal batting by the Lions helped them chase down the target with 3 balls to spare.

It must have certainly been disheartening for the RCB skipper to lose out despite registering a ton. Kohli has been in an ominous touch since the start of this year and has consistently scored in 80s and 90s but was yet to get into the triple figures in the shortest format of the game. Talking about his maiden T20 ton, Kohli said, “I am not really feeling good right now. Would have liked to cross the line on the right side of the result. Missed a couple of hundreds before. Personal performances are good, but not having a win is difficult.”

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Virat Kohli said that he wasn’t thinking of a ton at any stage of the game and it was only in the last over that the thought came to his mind. He was determined to get the total to 170. “Not at any stage was I thinking about a hundred. Just looking for 170. The opportunity came in the end,” quoted the Indian batsman.

He further added that he has missed out on centuries before. Kohli, whose previous best score in T20s was 99, admitted that he had a chance to score a ton against Delhi. “Just wanted to hit good areas. Even against Delhi, I was 75 at the time I was out. Coach Daniel Vettori told me hundred was there. Run out on 99 once. Never really thought about it today though. Just concentrated on hitting the gap,” he said.

Kohli stressed on the fact that it is the bowling that is letting them down and batting is not a problem. He also gave an update on Chris Gayle, saying the big Jamaican would return in the next game. “(Gayle) should be back in the next game. Batting is not a concern. We are planning a lot of things (with the ball),” he added.

The Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina, on the other hand, lauded the efforts of his batsmen. “Good win, when Virat got a hundred I thought it was going away from us. But Baz (Brendon McCullum) and Dwayne Smith got us off to a great start. We did not lose focus, we had good partnerships in the chase,” quoted Raina.

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