A day after Virat Kohli’s maiden T20I century (71st overall in international cricket) in the Asia Cup in Dubai, the euphoria over the landmark innings refuses to ebb. The former captain admitted after breaking the long drought he endured over 72 International matches and 83 innings that the 122 not out had left him “shocked” as T20 was a format he least expected to break the deadlock in.

Team India captain Rohit Sharma too joined the chorus lauding Kohli for his “work ethic” and his attitude of “never letting things go no matter what”. In a show of camaraderie, Kohli too spoke of the “space” Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid gave him upon his return from a six-week break.

“Personally, since I’ve come back from a break where I didn’t touch the bat for the longest time in the 13-14 years I’ve played, a lot of things were put into perspective,” Kohli told Rohit during a chat on bcci.tv. “I got a lot of clarity from you guys (pointing to Rohit) and the team management, to just allow me to bat. That was very important. “The space I got made me feel very relaxed. When I returned, I was excited to see how I could contribute to the team. Playing this way was important for me because the World Cup is big and if I play well, I can contribute big for the team,” Kohli remarked.

“I’d spoken to Rahul bhai three-four days back, that while batting first, especially the middle overs phase, how I can improve my strike rate. My only goal was to work on whatever I needed to improve. I honestly didn’t expect it (to score a T20I century). I was shocked, as you also mentioned after that, no one expected a century from me in this format after a long time. I was pleasantly surprised, grateful and honest.”

Finding the gaps

Kohli finished the Asia Cup with 276 runs in five innings, striking at 147.59. He said he was “desperate” to do something. He concentrated on playing good cricket shots without worrying about the strike rate and that helped. “My aim was to always play all three formats, and I banked on good cricketing shots,” he said. “I always came to every tournament or series thinking six-hitting is not a big strength of mine. I can when the situation demands, but I’m better at finding gaps and hitting boundaries.

“I told the coaches as well that I’m going to try and hit gaps rather than thinking I’ve to hit sixes... That thing I removed from my system in this tournament, and that helped because I was able to come back to my template. But it’s about being in a good space and enjoying your batting,” Kohli said.

“We can play in many ways, but my role is to play as per the situation and if it demands I take the scoring rate higher, I should be able to do it. My aim was if I can be in this zone, I can be relaxed because I know if I’m set for 10-15 balls, I can accelerate.”

Rohit agreed that the knock against Afghanistan was a fine lesson in pacing an innings. “Obviously in T20 cricket we talk about big hitting and all of that. But that (century) was the perfect example of how to craft an innings without focusing so much on big-hitting... That was wonderful to see. I know it personally because I’ve seen you bat long enough,” the Team India captain told Kohli.

Passion driven

Stand-in captain KL Rahul, who took charge after Rohit was rested in the inconsequential tie, explained how the former captain’s mindset hasn’t wavered even in troubled times. “There has been no difference to his mindset, attitude and work-ethic in the last 2-3 years, or before that when he used to score hundreds every second game.

There’s been no difference in the way he prepares for the game, or his attitude towards representing the country and winning matches for his team. The desire and the passion he’s had has always remained the same,” Rahul said.

Rahul felt Thursday’s century wasn’t one bit surprising for those in the dressing room. “I think we’re also very obsessed with numbers — only if centuries are being hit a batter is considered to be in form — but his contributions in the last 2-3 years have been phenomenal. He’s still the top-2 or top-3 run-getters in white-ball cricket in the last two or three years,” Rahul said.

“As a player, you always want to be perfect or challenge yourself. You run behind excellence. He’s always been that player. Even during this phase, he’s remained in the moment, he’s worked hard on his game, he’s remained patient.”