Virat Kohli calls for composure ahead of final

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has stated that composure in big match situations is the key as they face off against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final of IPL 9. The situation couldn’t have been better for the Challengers as they now face a side whom they vanquished at home in the final. The Indian Test skipper also added that there would definitely be nerves.

“The one word that comes to mind is composure. It’s very similar to being in a pressure situation while you are batting or bowling. What you require is composure,” he says in full honesty.

Kohli also added that it was important to have a good dressing room atmosphere and also stated that it was important to be as calm as possible.

“It starts in the change room. How you look at the atmosphere out there on the ground, how excited or nervous you get, whether your heart rate is shooting up before you even start warm-ups, all those things are very, very important for a person to understand. And just try and be as normal as possible about things,” he explains.

“Understanding (lies in the fact) that tomorrow is not going to be paused forever. Whatever happens, there has to be another day, there has to be a new day after that. Whether you win or you lose, that will not stay. Be attached yet be detached, it’s a classic example of that saying where you want to win, but at the same time you are not so attached to it that you are cursing yourself or being too hard on yourself,” he preaches.

“At the same time, if you win, you must enjoy with your teammates, you must enjoy the occasion but understand that that’s not the end of everything. The juggernaut doesn’t stop rolling there, you still have to keep working hard in any of the games you play afterwards. I think that sort of mindset where you can be probably very measured in terms of approaching a loss or a victory helps you stay in the right focus.”

“We have only been speaking about one thing – that being under pressure should be a privilege for a sportsman playing at this level. That’s something that the youngsters have really picked up well. Someone like Chahal, he has played four games lesser than most and he is a wicket or two (three) lesser than Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the purple cap holder]. That speaks volumes of the character that some of these youngsters possess.

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“It’s just about them not getting over-excited, understanding what has given them success, and sticking to their strengths because eventually you are playing a game of cricket. There is nothing different happening out there. You are still playing a game of cricket, you are still bowling the same ball or playing the same sort of shot. It is just the occasion that sometimes gets to the players. The biggest challenge for tomorrow I guess for all the players in the side is to not look at that game of cricket as something very different. The end result is something that can make someone nervous or happy but that’s what you need to stay away from. You need to stay in the moment, stay in the process and eventually things take care of themselves,” he says, simplifying the magnanimity of the fixture ahead of them.

“Getting a few days off was a good thing for our players to get fresh before getting back into the practice sessions. Sometimes you need to get back into the zone through practice sessions as a team because you can tend to get complacent once you’re in the final. So we understood the importance of the two practice sessions – the intensity was good, especially for the team to come together before a big game and actually executing the plans that we want to take in. I felt that it was a good time to prepare, and to get the right sort of momentum going into a big game like the finals,” he says.