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Virat Kohli feels the opposition bowlers want him to go hammer and tongs every time he comes out to bat, but he prefers adapting to match conditions without any predetermined strategy, as he did during his unbeaten century against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL match in Jaipur on Saturday.
Kohli hit 12 fours and four sixes while posting his eighth IPL hundred -- a composed 113 not out off 72 balls -- but RCB put up only 183 for 3 as none of the batters, Kohli included, could up the ante on a track where Rajasthan Royals spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin proved difficult propositions.
"The wicket looks quite different from the outside. It feels like it's flat, but the ball is holding up in the pitch; that's when you realise the pace changes," said Kohli after RCB's innings.
He also defended the strategy of not going after the bowlers from the start.
"One of us (Virat or Faf du Plessis) had to bat till the end. I feel this total is effective on this pitch. I am not coming in with any premeditation. I knew I couldn't get over aggressive, just that I had to keep the bowlers guessing. They think I will come hard at them," Kohli said.
"It's just experience and maturity of playing the conditions. Even if there's dew, the surface is rough and dry; won't be easy for the batters," he observed.
He felt that hitting Chahal or Ashwin wasn't an easy task.
"I couldn't get under the carrom ball against Ashwin. Couldn't slog towards mid-wicket, so had to target straight down the ground."
Kohli's ton went in vain as Jos Buttler powered the Royals to their fourth win on the trot with an unbeaten century. England's white-ball skipper, in his 100th IPL appearance, blasted exactly 100 off 58 balls, including 9 fours and 4 sixes, as Rajasthan Royals defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets for their fourth win in as many matches.