Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bangalore head coach Sanjay Bangar said that Virat Kohli is not bothered by a lean patch as he is enjoying his training sessions and taking enough breaks to keep away from pressure.
Kohli has scored 119 runs from eight matches this season and was dismissed for a first ball duck in consecutive matches. On Saturday, the former RCB skipper was caught at second slip off Marco Jansen's second over as RCB crumbled to 68 all out. SRH then chased the target in 8 overs.
"He (Kohli) is somebody who has consistently performed for RCB. Players go through these kind of rough patches. He started the season really well, nearly hit the winning runs in Pune but then you have an odd run-out or the first edge that finds his bat lands in fielder's hands," Bangar said at the post-match press conference.
"He is certainly doing everything that is in his control. He is doing his fitness and skills and taking good breaks and not letting the pressure get to him. He has been taking breaks at regular intervals and will continue to do so going forward."
Bangar sidestepped the suggestion made by former India head coach Ravi Shastri that Kohli needs a break from cricket.
"Even if you look at South Africa series, the 80-odd that he scored in one of the Test matches was a fine innings," Bangar said.
RCB suffered their third defeat of the season as they slipped to fourth in the standings. Bangar said that the team is mindful of not letting their intensity slip for the next match against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday.
"We have one day break, but the intensity shouldn't drop. It's something we are keeping a keen eye on. We are taking nothing for granted," the former Indian allrounder said.
SRH head coach Tom Moody was happy for the bowling performance of the team. When asked if Marco Jansen's first over, where he removed Faf Du Plessis, Kohli and Anuj Rawat, was the best spell in IPL 2022, Moody said: "It was superb first over. He got three top wickets. RCB struggled to recover from it. I didn't really looked into if it is the best spell in the IPL. It was a great performances from him."
Moody praised left-arm pacer T. Natarajan, who made a strong return from injury by claiming 15 wickets from seven matches at an average of 14.5.
"Last year he had few niggles. He worked extremely hard to get to full fitness. It's credit to him. Nattu understands his role inside out and he is very good at bowling those tough overs," Moody said.