![[JUGRAJ SINGH]](https://www.unp.me/data/avatars/m/123/123038.jpg?1591210006){kind=avatar}
"If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same - you'll be a man, my son" - Rudyard Kipling.
Very few cricketers could be termed as seasoned campaigners and experienced minds at the age of 27. Fewer, can turn up on the eve of a big final and sing virtues of maintaining composure. Virat Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bangalore's captain and a two-time runner-up in the brief history of the Indian Premier League, defies the stereotype. And delightfully so.
"The one word that comes to mind is composure. It's very similar to being in a pressure situation while you are batting or bowling. What you require is composure," he says in full honesty. If there are nerves, he conceals them expertly and delves into what goes behind preparing for an occasion like this.
"It starts in the change room. How you look at the atmosphere out there on the ground, how excited or nervous you get, whether your heart rate is shooting up before you even start warm-ups, all those things are very, very important for a person to understand. And just try and be as normal as possible about things," he explains.
Not very long ago, Kohli carried the Indian team till the World T20 semifinal. With a break of less than a week, he swapped his Indian jersey for the red and black of Royal Challengers Bangalore and played with similar intensity for two long months, even as fans across the country complained of T20 fatigue. Royal Challengers reached yet another final, not before a late, manic burst, setup by Kohli. Despite the adrenaline-pumping nature of Royal Challengers' journey to the final, there is refreshing poise and elegance to his viewpoints.
"Understanding (lies in the fact) that tomorrow is not going to be paused forever. Whatever happens, there has to be another day, there has to be a new day after that. Whether you win or you lose, that will not stay. Be attached yet be detached, it's a classic example of that saying where you want to win, but at the same time you are not so attached to it that you are cursing yourself or being too hard on yourself," he preaches.
"At the same time, if you win, you must enjoy with your teammates, you must enjoy the occasion but understand that that's not the end of everything. The juggernaut doesn't stop rolling there, you still have to keep working hard in any of the games you play afterwards. I think that sort of mindset where you can be probably very measured in terms of approaching a loss or a victory helps you stay in the right focus."
While Kohli understand the importance of staying level-headed, he imparts a valuable lesson to the team's tyros. For the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Sachin Baby and Iqbal Abdulla, the IPL final comes as one of the biggest matches of their fledgling career.
"We have only been speaking about one thing - that being under pressure should be a privilege for a sportsman playing at this level. That's something that the youngsters have really picked up well. Someone like Chahal, he has played four games lesser than most and he is a wicket or two (three) lesser than Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the purple cap holder]. That speaks volumes of the character that some of these youngsters possess.
"It's just about them not getting over-excited, understanding what has given them success, and sticking to their strengths because eventually you are playing a game of cricket. There is nothing different happening out there. You are still playing a game of cricket, you are still bowling the same ball or playing the same sort of shot. It is just the occasion that sometimes gets to the players. The biggest challenge for tomorrow I guess for all the players in the side is to not look at that game of cricket as something very different. The end result is something that can make someone nervous or happy but that's what you need to stay away from. You need to stay in the moment, stay in the process and eventually things take care of themselves," he says, simplifying the magnanimity of the fixture ahead of them.
Refreshed and rejuvenated, Royal Challengers come into the final with a hot-streak and a two-day break in their home city while their opponents slugged it out for two tough victories in the space of three days at the national capital and flew in late on the eve of the final. But the fear of complacency is not lost on the Royal Challengers' skipper.
"Getting a few days off was a good thing for our players to get fresh before getting back into the practice sessions. Sometimes you need to get back into the zone through practice sessions as a team, because you can tend to get complacent once you're in the final. So we understood the importance of the two practice sessions - the intensity was good, especially for the team to come together before a big game and actually executing the plans that we want to take in. I felt that it was a good time to prepare, and to get the right sort of momentum going into a big game like the finals tomorrow," he says.
Very few cricketers could be termed as seasoned campaigners and experienced minds at the age of 27. Fewer, can turn up on the eve of a big final and sing virtues of maintaining composure. Virat Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bangalore's captain and a two-time runner-up in the brief history of the Indian Premier League, defies the stereotype. And delightfully so.
"The one word that comes to mind is composure. It's very similar to being in a pressure situation while you are batting or bowling. What you require is composure," he says in full honesty. If there are nerves, he conceals them expertly and delves into what goes behind preparing for an occasion like this.
"It starts in the change room. How you look at the atmosphere out there on the ground, how excited or nervous you get, whether your heart rate is shooting up before you even start warm-ups, all those things are very, very important for a person to understand. And just try and be as normal as possible about things," he explains.
Not very long ago, Kohli carried the Indian team till the World T20 semifinal. With a break of less than a week, he swapped his Indian jersey for the red and black of Royal Challengers Bangalore and played with similar intensity for two long months, even as fans across the country complained of T20 fatigue. Royal Challengers reached yet another final, not before a late, manic burst, setup by Kohli. Despite the adrenaline-pumping nature of Royal Challengers' journey to the final, there is refreshing poise and elegance to his viewpoints.
"Understanding (lies in the fact) that tomorrow is not going to be paused forever. Whatever happens, there has to be another day, there has to be a new day after that. Whether you win or you lose, that will not stay. Be attached yet be detached, it's a classic example of that saying where you want to win, but at the same time you are not so attached to it that you are cursing yourself or being too hard on yourself," he preaches.
"At the same time, if you win, you must enjoy with your teammates, you must enjoy the occasion but understand that that's not the end of everything. The juggernaut doesn't stop rolling there, you still have to keep working hard in any of the games you play afterwards. I think that sort of mindset where you can be probably very measured in terms of approaching a loss or a victory helps you stay in the right focus."
While Kohli understand the importance of staying level-headed, he imparts a valuable lesson to the team's tyros. For the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Sachin Baby and Iqbal Abdulla, the IPL final comes as one of the biggest matches of their fledgling career.
"We have only been speaking about one thing - that being under pressure should be a privilege for a sportsman playing at this level. That's something that the youngsters have really picked up well. Someone like Chahal, he has played four games lesser than most and he is a wicket or two (three) lesser than Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the purple cap holder]. That speaks volumes of the character that some of these youngsters possess.
"It's just about them not getting over-excited, understanding what has given them success, and sticking to their strengths because eventually you are playing a game of cricket. There is nothing different happening out there. You are still playing a game of cricket, you are still bowling the same ball or playing the same sort of shot. It is just the occasion that sometimes gets to the players. The biggest challenge for tomorrow I guess for all the players in the side is to not look at that game of cricket as something very different. The end result is something that can make someone nervous or happy but that's what you need to stay away from. You need to stay in the moment, stay in the process and eventually things take care of themselves," he says, simplifying the magnanimity of the fixture ahead of them.
Refreshed and rejuvenated, Royal Challengers come into the final with a hot-streak and a two-day break in their home city while their opponents slugged it out for two tough victories in the space of three days at the national capital and flew in late on the eve of the final. But the fear of complacency is not lost on the Royal Challengers' skipper.
"Getting a few days off was a good thing for our players to get fresh before getting back into the practice sessions. Sometimes you need to get back into the zone through practice sessions as a team, because you can tend to get complacent once you're in the final. So we understood the importance of the two practice sessions - the intensity was good, especially for the team to come together before a big game and actually executing the plans that we want to take in. I felt that it was a good time to prepare, and to get the right sort of momentum going into a big game like the finals tomorrow," he says.
![[JUGRAJ SINGH]](https://www.unp.me/data/avatars/s/123/123038.jpg?1591210006){kind=avatar}
