Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane has noted that Virat Kohli has changed his method and batting style after India won the first ODI against New Zealand by four wickets at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara on Sunday. Kohli scored a match-winning knock of 93 runs off just 91 balls with the help of eight fours and one six.
Once again, the talisman was able to hit the ground running and took the attack against the opposition from the get-go. Kohli also breached the 28000 runs mark in International cricket across all formats, becoming the second player to do so after Sachin Tendulkar.
It has been noted in the recent past that Kohli is getting off the blocks quickly and he is taking an aggressive approach from the word go. The veteran batter recently scored 350 runs in three ODIs against South Africa at a strike rate of 117.05.
Rahane said on Cricbuzz, “His method and batting style has changed. He generally doesn’t step out that much against the spinners and fast bowlers. But whatever I’ve seen in this innings and also in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he’s doing that consistently now. He wants bowlers to change their lengths. That’s a great attitude because we’ve all seen Virat Kohli batting from the crease using his drives, pulls, and cuts. But nowadays he is stepping out.”
The Mumbai batter said a lot of people talk about skills but it is the routine which is imperative for a player.
“You talk about consistency, and you talk about Virat Kohli. But as a batter, when you are getting runs, people talk about the skills but it’s actually the routines that are really important. When you are going through a purple match, your off the field routines matter a lot. What kind of food you eat, what time you wake up and sleep, all these small things matter a lot,” said Rahane (via the aforementioned source).
Rahane lauded Kohli’s consistent hunger to follow the same routine of diet and fitness to savour success at the top level.
“Virat Kohli is able to do these for a long period of time. That’s very difficult to do because it’s a boring thing. Eating the same food, waking up at the same time, and following the same routines, be it the stretching at the ground and the workouts, it’s literally boring. Yes, he works hard on his fitness and batting, but his off the field routines are really good. That’s why he has been consistent for so long.”
The second ODI between India and New Zealand will be played at Rajkot on Wednesday.
