Virat Kohli slowed down drastically for no reason when he got closer to 50 against CSK: Sanjay Manjrekar

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli scored 53 off 41 deliveries for his side in their clash against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on 24th September 2021. Kohli struck 6 fours and a six in his innings and scored his runs at a strike rate of 129.26.

And, cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Kohli slowed down drastically after he reached his 40th run. Manjrekar stated that the world saw a different Virat Kohli in the match against the Chennai side.

The 56-year-old added that Kohli was stepping out to the CSK pacers, threw caution to the wind, and batted like how a T20 opener would do.

“I thought there was a different Virat Kohli who batted today. He was stepping out to the fast bowlers, there were a couple of sixes as well. So, he was really batting like a T20 opener, throwing caution to the wind, going down the pitch and stuff,” said Manjrekar in a chat with ESPN Cricinfo.

I could not understand why Virat Kohli slowed down: Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar added that after Kohli reached his 40th run, he slowed down drastically. The commentator even threw in some numbers as well. Manjrekar stated that while Kohli scored his first 40 runs at a strike rate of 153.84, his next 13 runs took 15 balls, and the RCB batting behemoth’s strike rate fell to just 86. Manjrekar concluded by stating that Kohli got ‘caught up’ when he was nearing the 50-run mark.

“And come to 40, he drastically slowed down and I could not understand that. He got his first 40 runs in 26 balls and that was great. And then, the next 13 runs in 15 balls. At a strike rate of 86.66.

Clearly, when he got close to 50, he slowed down, and I just wonder whether the time that he is going through with all the decisions that he has made around T20 cricket and runs not quite coming in whether he got a bit caught up in getting to 50. Because that is a big nosedive from 153 to 86 for no apparent reason,” concluded Sanjay Manjrekar.