Virat Kohli is among the few active cricketers who have played every IPL season. Not to forget, he was part of that inaugural game at the iconic Eden Gardens between Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru) and Kolkata Knight Riders. He remembers the famous Brendon McCullum knock, the wild Kolkata atmosphere and the looming uncertainty yet excitement among the cricketers about the new tournament. But on Wednesday, he opened up on a never-before-heard story from the first-ever IPL game.
Fresh from the U-19 World Cup win and with the burden of expectation on his young shoulders, an 18-year-old Kohli sought to conquer IPL as he walked out to bat at the Eden Gardens in chase of a colossal 223. But the pressure of having lost an early wicket and the atmosphere at the venue got the better of Kohli quickly.
In a candid conversation on '18 Calling 18' in JioHotstar, Kohli recalled that the very same Ishant Sharma, whom he had faced numerous times in the nets, with both being from the Delhi Ranji team, turned out to be an intimidating bowler only because of the ambience in Kolkata as he struggled against the India fast bowler.
"The interesting thing, which I've never spoken about, is that Ishant and I played all our cricket together, so I have faced him a lot. But in that game, I felt he was bowling at a different level, and that was the pressure. That is what environment means. Had I faced him in the nets, I wouldn't have been intimidated, but that day, I felt like I couldn't hit any of his deliveries, and that was because of the atmosphere and the pressure," he said.
When Ishant Sharma repeatedly sledged Virat Kohli
The RCB star added that Ishant, who was just fresh from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, where the youngster had burst into fame with the dismissal of Ricky Ponting in the Perth game, kept sledging him throughout the first over he faced against the pacer. But Kohli had his answer ready.
{{/usCountry}}The RCB star added that Ishant, who was just fresh from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, where the youngster had burst into fame with the dismissal of Ricky Ponting in the Perth game, kept sledging him throughout the first over he faced against the pacer. But Kohli had his answer ready.
{{/usCountry}}"We were staying in different hotels, so there was no conversation about the game. But yes, he was sledging a lot. I mean, seriously...he just came back from Australia, had that new hairstyle, so he had that star attitude. I said, ' side mein aa mein tereko batata hu'. But all fun and games," he said.
Kohli was eventually dismissed by Ashok Dinda in the next over, having scored just one run off five balls, as RCB lost by 140 runs.
The 36-year-old has come a long way in his international and IPL career. In the T20 tournament, he is now the highest run-getter with 8168 runs in 256 appearances, all for RCB. He also has the second-most number of fifty-plus scores (65) in IPL, one short of leader David Warner.