IPL 2019: 3 Reasons why Virat Kohli might help RCB to win their maiden title this year

Virat Kohli, who is the face of Indian cricket right now, has achieved such things in his 10-year career which many legends couldn’t even dream of in their entire career. He is probably the greatest batsman of the modern era and his average of over 50 across all formats is simply unthinkable for any player in the world. He has been part of teams which have won the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the Asia cup. But one trophy which has eluded “the chase master” is the IPL. Every year when one looks at RCB, they think this is the team to beat, but every year the Bangalore outfit prove them wrong. RCB have managed to reach the finals of the IPL thrice, with the team losing all three of them. For some reasons, they have not been able to cross the finishing line. However, a rejuvenated Kohli can guide his team to IPL glory in the upcoming season. Here are the four reasons why he can take RCB all the way in the 2019 IPL.

#1 An improved Indian captain:

When Kohli took over as the Indian ODI captain, there was many who doubted whether he would enjoy the same success as M.S.Dhoni. Even though Kohli was unbeaten in tests at home, ODI is a different ball game, and MSD was India’s most successful ODI captain with a World Cup and Champions Trophy in his kitty. Also, Kohli’s approach to captaincy is entirely different from that of Dhoni.

But he has proved his captaincy credentials by winning 49 matches out of 65 with an outstanding win percentage of 75. Under his captaincy, India has won their first ever ODI series in South Africa. He also helped India to win the ODI series in Australia and New Zeland. Kohli's captaincy has improved ed lot in recent days. He has been a part of quite a few close games, which helped him mature as a leader. This will help the RCB captain during the 2019 IPL season.

#2 The most consistent player in IPL over the last 5 years

Kohli holds the record for scoring most runs in a season

We can divide Kohli’s IPL career graph into two phases - before 2013 and after 2013. Before 2013, Kohli had played many useful innings for RCB but he was never a match-winner in this format. Many doubted his abilities as a T20 batsman, considering he relied primarily on strike rotation and the occasional fours. But he proved everyone wrong in the 2016 season where he hit four centuries and scored an unbelievable 973 runs. It was simple old school batting from Kohli - get single off the good deliveries and punish all the mediocre balls. Despite Kohli's heroics, RCB failed to win the IPL. The Indian captain is having a great run with the bat in international cricket. He will hope to do the same during the IPL too. He is just 52 runs away from crossing 5000 runs in the IPL. Kohli's form will be vital for RCB to go all the way in the upcoming season.

#3 His record at Bangalore

Virat Kohli has scored three T20 centuries at Bangalore

For 11 years, RCB have gone through many successes and failures, but one thing that has remained constant through all these years is the incredible support they receive from their fans. Even though they had a dismal 2017 IPL, the support for RCB never reduced and the chants of RCB.....RCB still echoes wherever they go.

Kohli loves batting at the Chinnaswamy stadium. During the T20I match against Australia, he became the only player to score over 2500 T20 runs in a single ground. The RCB captain has thus far played 68 games at the MA Chinnaswamy stadium, scoring a staggering 2112 runs, which includes 15 half-centuries and three centuries. RCB will play their first game at home on 28th March against the Mumbai Indias, and Kohli would love to start the campaign on a winning note at home.

The opening game for the 2019 season will be played at Chennai between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore on 23rd March 2019.