Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was encouraged by Virat Kohli’s knock of 73 in the victory over Gujarat Titans on May 19, stating the great batter’s precise footwork during the innings augurs well in his quest to regain his best form.
While certainly not an innings from the top drawer of Kohli’s batting efforts, the knock by the Royal Challengers Bangalore opener would’ve boosted his morale after a difficult IPL 2022.
Heading into RCB’s final league stage encounter at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Kohli had gone as deep as 13 matches into the tournament with only 236 runs, having previously endured indifferent IPL 2020 and 2021 as well.
Eyeing rhythm and flow at the crease, in Tendulkar-esque fashion, Kohli decided to go for his stroke and with some slice of good fortune, ended up playing his most fluent knock of the tournament. His 54-ball stay featured eight fours and two sixes.
But for Tendulkar, it wasn’t the runs but the way Kohli’s feet moved at the crease, especially against Titans’ ace wristspinner Rashid Khan, reflected positively on the modern-day champion and his quest to regain the lost mojo.
“I liked the positive attitude shown by the Bangalore batters. Virat took the initiative and he started attacking. In this match, I really liked one thing in particular, and that was the precision in his footwork and like they say, showing the face of the bat. It was visible and I really liked that,”
Tendulkar said in a Youtube video.
The six down the ground against Rashid seems to have warmed Tendulkar’s heart the most, as he called the stroke “brilliant” in the way Kohli went right to the pitch of the ball and focused on timing it over the ropes.
Tendulkar said it was good to see Kohli being quick on his feet and gauging the leg-break from Rashid’s hands early, not the easiest of things to do against the Afghan legend known for an indecipherable mix of googlies and the conventional legspinners.
