‘Fantastic cricketer’ Kohli will turn form around - Du Plessis

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis is confident Virat Kohli will overcome his IPL batting slump.   

Kohli took his Indian Premier League tally this season to  just 128 runs from nine matches after scoring a scratchy nine in the  defeat to Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday following two golden ducks.   

Moved up to open the batting, Kohli was inches away from  failing to score for a third match in a row with a shot that fell just  short of a fielder.   

The former India captain remained jittery and lasted only  ten balls before an attempted pull shot off Prasidh Krishna was edged on  to his helmet to give a catch at cover point.   
 “Great players go through things like this and great  characters have to find a way to get through it,” Du Plessis said after  his team fell 29 runs short of a modest target of 145.   
 “Our thinking was to get him into the game straight away so he does not sit on the side and think too much about the game.   

 “He is a fantastic cricketer, so we still back him that he  will turn it around and it’s just the case of getting a good start.”  Kohli, one of the best batsmen of the modern era, has failed to score a  century for more than two years for club or country and departed first  ball 

in his previous two IPL innings.   

He has been the flagbearer for Indian cricket and Royal  Challengers Bangalore (RCB), for whom he amassed a record 973 runs in  the 2016 edition of the Twenty20 tournament.   
“He is a great player and seen many ups and downs in his career,” Bangalore coach Sanjay Bangar told reporters.   

 “I have seen him up close and he is a fighter. So he will  come out of this run of low scores in the last three matches and will  soon get us a win.” Bangar, who worked as India batting coach with  Kohli, said he “possesses the art of coming out of difficult  situations.”   

 “His mental capability is such that he will do well in the  upcoming games.” The match also saw England’s Jos Buttler, the 2022  IPL’s highest scorer with 499 runs and three sparkling centuries, make  just eight, his lowest of the season.   

Former India coach Ravi Shastri called for Kohli to take a break and come back refreshed.   

 “He has played non-stop cricket, captained the team across  formats. It would be wise of him to take a break,” Shastri said on an  internet chat show.   
Former Bangalore skipper Daniel Vettori said he still  believed Kohli could play a key part for the team, who are searching for  their first IPL title.   

 “If RCB can scrape through the semi-finals (play-offs)  there is no reason why he can’t be the person who takes them to the  title,” Vettori told ESPNcricinfo.

-AFP