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Virat Kohli seems to be finding his groove in IPL 2025. He recently played a solid knock of 67 off 42 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against the Mumbai Indians.
Before that, Kohli had scores of 59* in the opening match, followed by 31 against Chennai Super Kings and a rare failure with just 7 against Gujarat Titans.
Interestingly, in his 18th IPL season — wearing his iconic jersey number 18 — Kohli continues to be the only cricketer to represent a single team in every edition of the tournament.
Ishant’s Fire and Kohli’s Fiery Response
In a special feature titled 18 Calling 18 on Jio Hotstar, Kohli shared a memory involving Ishant Sharma that left a mark.
He recalled a high-pressure match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata where RCB was chasing 223. Kohli admitted he found Ishant’s bowling particularly challenging that day.
“The interesting thing, which I’ve never spoken about, is that Ishant and I played all our cricket together, so I have faced him a lot. But in that game, I felt he was bowling at a different level, and that was the pressure. That is what environment means. Had I faced him in the nets, I wouldn’t have been intimidated, but that day, I felt like I couldn’t hit any of his deliveries, and that was because of the atmosphere and the pressure,” he said.
He added that Ishant, fresh off a successful Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour in Australia and known for dismissing Ricky Ponting in Perth, brought a bit of attitude to the IPL clash.
“We were staying in different hotels, so there was no conversation about the game. But yes, he was sledging a lot. I mean, seriously…he just came back from Australia, had that new hairstyle, so he had that star attitude. I said, ‘side mein aa mein tereko batata hu’. But all fun and games,” he shared.
RCB, however, couldn’t chase down the total and ended up losing the match.
Growth, Humility, and the Kohli Formula
Kohli reflected on how humility and adaptability have shaped his T20 career. For him, letting go of ego has been key to succeeding in the shortest format.
“It’s never about ego. It was never about trying to overshadow anyone,” said Kohli. “It’s always been about understanding the game situation — and that’s something I’ve always taken pride in. I want to play according to what the situation demands.”
With over 13,000 runs in T20 cricket, Kohli remains the first Indian to reach that milestone. He also continues to be the leading run-getter in IPL history — with 8168 runs in 256 matches, including a record eight centuries.
Kohli emphasized the importance of reading the game and adjusting his role based on the team’s momentum. “If I was in rhythm, in the flow of the game, I naturally took the initiative. If someone else was better placed to take the lead, they would do it,” he said.
He also pointed to 2010 and 2011 as the breakthrough years in his IPL career.
“In my first three years with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, I didn’t get many opportunities to bat in the top order. I was usually sent lower down. So, I wasn’t really able to crack the IPL in a big way. But from 2010 onwards, I started performing more consistently, and by 2011, I was regularly batting at number three. That’s when my IPL journey really began to take shape,” Kohli recalled.
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