In Hyderabad, I couldn't do that (win the game). I was very disappointed and hurt: Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore have been having a characteristically bad first half to their IPL season, but this season has been disappointing even by past standards. Until the match against Pune, they sat right at the bottom alongside Kings XI at four points. Virat Kohli being in the form of his life has had little impact on the side as their below-par bowling attack has struggled to contain rival batsmen.

In the last away game against Hyderabad, Kohli had had a rare off day, and understandably, the Bangalore side had ended on the losing side. Kohli, as we know him, decided to take that defeat and forge it into inspiration with his usual dose of determination.

"With the game we played before this and the one in Hyderabad, we were struggling to defend scores”.

"We had a chance to chase one down and I backed myself to go out there and go for the target; make sure I was there until the end and try and win the game for the team and contribute as much as I can. In the last game in Hyderabad, I couldn't do that. I was very disappointed and it hurt me a lot because I understand that if you want your team to do a certain thing, you have to go out there and do it yourself first. I think, I had that at the back of my head. That came through today in terms of wanting to stay till the end and finish the game,” said Kohli, reported Cricbuzz.

The match also saw Kohli equal the record for most centuries in an IPL season – held solely by team-mate Chris Gayle until now. Kohli's previous century had come against Gujarat Lions, although Bangalore had managed to end up on the losing side despite that.

The RCB opener also described how he felt in the middle as the target loomed larger even as his century was within reach. "I didn't look at my score on the scoreboard, I looked at how many runs and balls are there and what the difference is and how many runs we need to score in which over. In that process, if you get a milestone, it feels sweet. In an hour or two, when I realise actually what happened then it will feel far sweeter, but the ultimate target was the victory because of how hurt we were after the last game."

The match was not without its disappointments though for the skipper as his side put up an abysmal fielding performance before he stepped up to salvage the situation. In a matter of few overs, the RCB side missed countless chances that threatened to run into the double digits as the skipper had watched on despondently – he had not lost his cool however.

Speaking about it, "We needed a good win like this to pull ourselves up again and get our confidence especially given the kind of day we had in the field. It's very easy to lose your cool and easy to get carried away and get frustrated. You'd rather take that frustration and turn it into being determined to put in 20 per cent extra on the field," said Kohli.