Virat Kohli said he had found his best form in three years after leading
India to a series win against
South Africa on Saturday, marking a big turnaround from recent tough times.The 37-year-old former captain won the player of the series award after India's 2-1
ODI series win, scoring 302 runs, including two centuries and an unbeaten half-century at an average of 151.Kohli’s standout performance came in Saturday’s deciding match in
Visakhapatnam as India chased 271.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s first ODI century and
Rohit Sharma’s 75 set up the chase, and Kohli hit 65 off 45 balls with three sixes, then charged down the pitch to score the winning runs.This performance was a big comeback for a player who had faced a lot of criticism after hitting back-to-back ducks in
Australia, but has now scored 376 runs in his last four innings."I feel really free in my mind," Kohli said. "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 in two or three years now and I feel really free in my mind. The whole game is coming together nicely.""It's very exciting to build on and something I’ve always tried to do as a player, to keep up my own standards and play at the level that can make an impact for the team."And I know when I can bat like that out there in the middle, it helps the team a lot because I can bat long, I can adapt to the situation. Just being confident makes me feel like I have what it takes to handle that situation and bring it in favor of the team."The veteran, who has retired from
Test and T20 internationals, admitted even players with his experience — more than 16 years in ODIs — faced doubts, especially when one mistake could affect confidence."You tend to go into a space where you feel like, 'Maybe I'm not good enough'. The nerves take over and that's the beauty of sport. Especially a skill like batting where you have to keep overcoming that fear," Kohli explained."Every ball you play and eventually play long innings and get back into a zone where you can start playing confidently. So it's a whole journey of learning and getting to know yourself better and becoming better as a person along the way."I can surely vouch for the fact that being a batsman and realizing so much about myself, what kind of negative thinking patterns I have, where I can get into a zone where I don't feel confident or when I'm feeling like myself."It just improves you as a person and your whole temperament becomes much better and balanced over so many years."
