Virat Kohli on Saturday became the first player to amass 7000 runs in IPL history, but for the superstar batter, it was just “another” milestone in his illustrious career and he said he wants to put his head down and continue to work hard.
Kohli hit 55 off 46 balls for his sixth half-century of the season at the Ferozeshah Kotla where he began his cricket journey as he helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post 181 for 4 against Delhi Capitals.
Kohli was playing in his 233rd match since the inception of the IPL in 2008 when he reached the 7000-run milestone. He had come into the match with 6,988 runs from 232 matches.
“7000 runs is just another milestone during the journey of what I’m trying to do for my team. It’s a nice number when you try to do something for your team,” Kohli said after his landmark fifty.
“I want to put my head down and continue to work hard.”
Kohli’s family and his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma were present at the stadium to watch the former India captain play his homecoming match. He was seen touching Sharma’s feet before the match to pay respect to his coach.
“It’s a special moment … my family is here, my coach is here, cricket is just a part of my life. I was honoured with getting a pavilion named after me. I started my journey here and started playing for Delhi here.
“I never imagined all these things would come there and there’s gratitude for all this,” said the 34-year-old right-handed batter.
On the scintillating innings played by Mahipal Lomror, who hit 54 not out off 29 balls, Kohi said, “It was unbelievable and me and Faf thought that 160 would be a good score. Mahipal came and changed the game, shifted the momentum towards us.
“My job was to bat deep and get those late runs, but DK (Dinesh Karthik) and Mahi (Lomror) did a tremendous job as well. It gives the senior guys like me and Faf a lot of confidence at this stage of the tournament. It’s a great sign for the team.”