IPL 2020

We deserve to win an IPL title: Virat Kohli

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

"We've reached 3 finals, but we haven't won a single one of them," said Kohli on Instagram live © Getty

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli felt his team - one of only three yet to get their hands on the coveted trophy - deserves to win a title. Since the start of the league in 2008, RCB have made it to three finals, but have returned with the runners-up medal on each occasion.

With the sort of players that RCB have boasted to have had in their ranks over the years, there has been a great level of anticipation as to when they'd end their trophy drought. In a chat with Kevin Pietersen on Instagram Live, Kohli revealed that the players themselves felt the pain that the fans have experienced over the years, and acknowledged the added pressure that his team has had to deal with in several seasons.

"When you have... in history of the league... you have the biggest players in the world, obviously there's going to be a lot of attention on the team. Now, you see even with this team... myself, AB [de Villiers], Chris Gayle [previously]... Dale [Steyn] has played recently, we're always going to be more in focus. We've spoken about it," Kohli said.

"We've reached 3 finals, but we haven't won a single one of them. We've made three semifinals, but those things are irrelevant till the time you don't win the title. We feel the same as everyone else."

RCB's first IPL final appearance came in 2009 in South Africa, under Anil Kumble's captaincy. The team won eight of the 14 league stage games to finish third, overcame MS Dhoni's CSK in the semifinal, only to fall short at the final hurdle against previous season wooden spoon holders Deccan Chargers. In the following season they made it to the semis and went a step further once again in 2011, but lost the title to CSK. When they next made it to the knockouts - under the playoffs in 2015, CSK once again stood in their way in the second qualifier.

In 2016, RCB rose from an unlikely position - having lost 6 of their first 10 games, to win four of their last four to make a late but a commanding entry into the playoffs.

The stand out of that season - not just for RCB - was the unmatched batting form that Kohli brought to the fore. He finished with a jaw-dropping tally of 973 runs, while AB de Villiers amassed 687, but the team once again came up short in the final - giving Sunrisers Hyderabad their maiden IPL title.

"Even when we've had the best teams, we've just not been able to do it. That's one of our main goals. We deserve to win the title," Kohli said.

The RCB skipper also felt the added pressure - within the team - of ticking a title win off the checklist also weighed his team down in recent years.

"There's been added pressure in recent years. We've just thought 'this is the season, this is the season', and that's blown us all over the place. I think we need to get that joy back," Kohli said.

Amidst the patch that Kohli enjoyed in 2016, came a superlative effort in a do-or-die fixture which he rated as his most 'fun' innings. Towards the end of the league stage that year, RCB found themselves playing a must-win fixture every two days, as they needed to secure all available points from their last four matches. One of those was a rain-curtailed, 15-overs-a-side game against Kings XI Punjab, wherein he smashed a 113 off just 50 deliveries - 96 of which came in boundaries (12 fours and 8 sixes).

"It was against Kings XI Punjab. It was a 14-over game and I got a century in 12 overs. That was a day where I felt like I was connecting everything. I felt like I wasn't going to get out, and I've never felt like that," Kohli said.

© Cricbuzz

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