Another surge at 37? Virat Kohli credits free mindset for his best form in years
Virat Kohli delivered a stunning performance in India's 2-1 ODI series victory against South Africa. He has scored 302 runs in three games at an average of 151.
New Delhi: India defeated South Africa by 9 wickets in the third ODI to clinch the series 2-1 at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, December 6. Virat Kohli won the player of the series award for scoring 302 runs at a stunning average of 151 in three matches.
Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this year after facing massive criticism for a dip in form in the longest format, but smashed two consecutive hundreds in the ODI series. Kohli received his 12th Player of the Series award in ODI cricket, surpassing Sanath Jayasuriya's record of 11.
"Well, honestly, just playing the way I have in this series has been the most satisfying thing for me. 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. The whole game is coming together nicely," said Kohli in the post-match presentation.
The star batter further added that he has always tried to maintain his own standards that he has set for himself and play at the level that he can make an impact for the team. This is a bold statement from Kohli, considering he has notched up 765 runs in the 2023 World Cup at an average of 95.62 in 11 matches, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in a single edition of the tournament.
With another record-breaking series, Kohli has once again proved that he is raring to feature in India’s ODI plans for the 2027 World Cup. Questions were raised about Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s participation in the World Cup, as they would be aged 38 and 40 by the time, respectively. The lack of match time is also viewed as one of the prospects, but they have proved every criticiser wrong.
'I’ve had many phases where I’ve doubted myself'
Reflecting on tough phases during his long career, Kohli admitted he has doubted himself many times, and said that it's a part of the human journey, but he's glad that he is still able to contribute to the team.
"When you play that long — 15, 16 years — you’re going to have many phases where you doubt your ability, especially as a batsman, because you’re literally relying on one mistake," Kohli added.
Both Rohit and Kohli will be back in action when India will face New Zealand in the first ODI on January 11, 2026.