Virat Kohli talks about his favourite ground, and how he handles pressure

The 1^st of May saw Adidas launching its first global concept store of the country in Bangalore. The new formats of ‘HomeCourt’ and ‘Neighbourhood’ flagship stores were introduced by the sporting icons and Adidas athletes, Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle, at VR Mall, Whitefield.

Speaking to reporters at a Press conference, Virat revealed the secret to his stunning form in the recent times.

The 27-year-old batsman was asked about his favourite ground, said “it had to be Adelaide” considering his statistics there. The Indian test skipper has scored 4 centuries in his 8 innings played there, across all formats.

“I love playing in Bangalore and Mumbai. And around the world MCG, and Johannesburg, but Adelaide is my most favourite ground.”

He went on to say that the crowd support and the environment in the stadium make the Adelaide Oval special.

“The crowd plays a massive role. The moment I step into Adelaide, even if I am in bad form, I enter feeling really good. It is all about what you feel in your mind.

“The moment you step in Bangalore, you can sense that energy from the fans and that confidence goes through you, and the bowlers can sense it as well. The environment in the stadium, the crowd, and the angles of the field make you feel good about a particular stadium.”

Virat Kohli tops the list when it comes to successful run-chases in ODIs.The 50-over format has seen him score 3076 runs in 63 innings at a strike rate of 89.23, with 10 centuries and 17 fifties. This clearly explains that he loves challenges and pressure situations.

The T20 format has seen him garner even more praise and the stats stand by his growing reputation. The RCB skipper averages 122.83 in successful run-chases for India in T20Is. His 15 innings batting second has seen him score 737 runs at a strike-rate of 131 while remaining unbeaten nine times.

“It is when you can change things in your life. You can either see a glass as half full or half-empty. I see it as an opportunity. Pressure is privilege. We should be grateful that we are in situations where those pressures are given to us because those are tests of life, and we need to pass them with flying colours.”

The Indian batting maestro’s cover-drives are the result of how well he times the ball.

“The way I work on my timing is by hitting the ball as close to my body as possible, and you got to be able to see the ball bounce right in front of you when you hit it. That’s when you know you have timed the ball well.”

Virat has always played smart, calculated cricket, which has helped him build his innings and get those big scores.

“You got to play percentage cricket. You see the pace of the game, the situation you are in while chasing or batting first, which bowler is going to bowl to you at what stage, analyse which bowler you can target, play as fewer dot balls as possible, especially in the shorter formats.”

The young heartthrob is popular worldwide for his cricketing skills and style statements on and off-field. He has a huge fan following who are emotionally bonded to the game.

“Yes, fans do get very emotional especially when we lose. But they also get really happy when we win. As players, we have to control our emotions on the field, and we express ourselves later in our rooms.”