Virat Kohli leaves no stone unturned ahead of big CSK vs RCB clash, Dinesh Karthik informs 'even today he wanted to...'

Virat Kohli

In the past, spin bowling was effective at keeping Virat Kohli quiet.  Then, when pace was removed off the ball last year, he improved his game in accordance with the Indian team's new T20 cricket strategy.

Kohli started the 2025 Indian Premier League with a strong innings, and on the eve of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's match against Chennai Super Kings in Chepauk, attention is once again focused on his performance against R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Noor Ahmad.

"He has batted well in the recent past against spin, especially in white-ball cricket," RCB batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik said, "So, I don't want to go too deep into stats. I am not very aware. But if I remember, in the [T20] World Cup finals, he got runs where it mattered. And apart from that, in the Champions Trophy, he had a good tournament second-highest run-getter [for India]. And that doesn't come without playing on spin.

"So, I believe right now, he is batting as well as he has ever done. And you speak to him even today, just now as I came out. He wanted to work on one more shot. At this point of time, to work on one more shot, tells you the hunger that he has in his mindset. He wants to just improve and keep raising the bar. So, he is a special player. And at this point of time, the way I see it, he is batting as confidently and as well as he has ever done in IPL."

The conditions in Chennai haven't always been conducive to spinning. Stephen Fleming, the coach of CSK, has previously emphasized the team's desire to regain its home advantage.

Fleming stated that "if it does turn, great" is still his first option, but he seems content with whatever he receives on game day.

"It's difficult," Fleming said. "We don't have much influence, really, on what comes up. Each pitch has a different characteristic. We've found that. So, we'll work really hard from ball one to try and work out what we have, trying to get us a team that's pretty well-equipped for all conditions because that's been the key to playing here.

"We do find it's a flat wicket. We've got guys that are good at bowling in those conditions. If it does turn, great. I'm sure we won't get a green seamer, so the other two is what we're looking for."

Additionally, Fleming had a theory on why mystery spin is so well-liked in Twenty20 cricket.

"A lot of these players are coming straight out of one season or half a season, two seasons at most, of first-class cricket. So, they haven't got a lot of grounding. They haven't got the 10 years of first-class experience, but they're incredibly powerful. So, they know how to hit the ball, hit it a long way, but the subtleties of the game are something that you learn over time.

"When you're young and getting these big opportunities, sometimes you haven't had the experience against a wide range of bowlers. So, for many, it's coming up against this type of player [mystery spinner] for the first time, and it's a tough stage. But their default position is power, so you still have to be very smart with what you do. But that's why we think players with a little bit of difference make a big difference."