Kohli still surprised at level of his recent cricket after finishing the series with an astounding average of 151.
Kohli: I’ve not played at this level for two-three years.
Virat Kohli believes his batting is finally clicking into place again, saying he feels closer to his best than at any point over the past couple of years. He capped off the ODI series against South Africa with an unbeaten 65 as India wrapped up the decider with ease, cruising home by nine wickets with more than ten overs to spare while chasing 271.
That closing knock followed successive hundreds in the opening two matches, giving Kohli a remarkable series haul of 302 runs at an extraordinary average of 151. The run also extended a strong personal revival: after suffering back-to-back ducks in the Australia ODIs — his first assignment since the IPL ended in June — he has now posted four consecutive scores of fifty or more.
“Honestly, just playing the way I have in this series has been the most satisfying thing for me,” Kohli said at the presentation. “I don’t think I’ve played at this level for a good two-three years now and I feel really free in my mind and just the whole game is coming together nicely, [it’s] very exciting to build on. And something that I’ve always tried to do as a player, maintain my own standards that I’ve set for myself and play at the level that I can make an impact for the team. I know when I can bat like that out there in the middle, then it of course helps the team in a big way because I can bat long, I can bat according to the situation and just being confident makes me feel like any situation out there in the middle, I have what it takes to handle that situation and bring it in favour of the team.”
Kohli capped off a remarkable run by claiming the Player-of-the-Series honour yet again — the 22nd time he has done so across international cricket and the 12th in the ODI format alone. He also rewrote his own power-hitting benchmarks, clearing the ropes 12 times across the three matches, the most sixes he has ever struck in a single ODI series, World Cups included. Adding to the statement was his scoring speed: a series strike rate of 117.05, his fastest return over multiple ODIs since early 2023.
“Well, you know, when I play freely then I know I can hit sixes,” he said. “So I just wanted to have some fun because I was batting well, just take a bit more risk, just push my own boundaries and see where I go. There’s always levels you can unlock and you just need to take a risk.”