KOLKATA: Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli , who has been on a rampage with three centuries in the ongoing ninth edition of IPL feels that he now has more belief in his ability to hit sixes.

“I don’t mind playing run-a-ball for the first 20-25 balls because I know that I can get 40-45 runs in the next 15 balls. Now I believe more in my ability to hit sixes or pick gaps for boundaries in the final overs,” Kohli said.

Kohli knows that the teams try to entice him by bowling outside the off-stump.

“I see that they (teams) have plans outside the off stump for me and they keep two fielders on the boundary straight away. They want me to do something stupid. At that point, you need to understand that they want you out. They would rather not have you batting on 15 off 20 balls because they know that once you get in you will cash in later,” Kohli said.

Kohli said that there are times when someone feels supre­mely confident at the same time, one needs to respect the game.

“You cannot take the sport for granted. During the last match (against Mumbai Indians ) I told Dan (Daniel Vettori, the Royal Challengers head coach) that I felt like I could hit every ball of the first over from Tim Southee for a six. But I stopped myself because I don’t want to disrespect the sport. I want to build my innings in the same way every time I go in to bat.

“Sometimes I will get out, like I did in the last game. But as long as I know that I wasn’t getting ahead of myself, I am okay. Once you start taking the sport and your form for granted, a bad patch comes in and it makes you chase after every single run.”

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2016