IPL 2020: 'Virat Kohli is human, not machine,' says childhood coach on his poor outing

On Sunday, Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma said that the benchmark that the India captain has set is the reason why fans have lost patience so quickly and want to see the batsman score runs every time he takes guard. Bangalore captain Virat Kohli had a poor outing in the Dream11 IPL 2020 Match 6 against Punjab on Thursday as his team was thrashed by 97 runs. 

Speaking to ANI, Sharma said that Kohli's fans have been so used to seeing him perform consistently that even one bad inning makes them sad.

"It is just a part and parcel of a sportsman's life. You have good days and you have bad days on the pitch. It is just that Kohli has set such a benchmark that people forget he is only human and not a machine. You are bound to have off days and there is nothing wrong with it. People will ask if there is some technical issue or a mindset issue, but I will again say that it is a part of the game. You cannot succeed every time you walk onto the pitch. Kohli's fans have been so used to seeing him perform consistently that even one bad innings makes them sad," he pointed.

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During Bangalore's second match, nothing went in Virat Kohli's way as he dropped a couple of regulation catches of Punjab skipper KL Rahul, who was on his way to a ton. Speaking about the dropped catches, Sharma went on to say that Even Jonty Rhodes missed a catch here and there, adding that it has nothing to do with patience or the urge to set the tone after the resumption of cricket. 

"Firstly, like I said before, these things happen. Anybody can miss a catch or two. Even Jonty Rhodes missed a catch here and there. Javed Miandad was considered a great fielder and if you go back and look, he also did slip once or twice. So, this has nothing to do with patience or the urge to set the tone after the resumption of cricket. It is just a bad day on the field which can happen to even the best. He has played enough cricket to come back strongly and lead from the front," the coach said.

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Virat Kohli dropped catches vs Punjab

Virat Kohli dropped catches vs Punjab includes his first spill, which came on the final delivery of the 17th over which was bowled by Dale Steyn. The South African speedster bowled a low full-toss which KL Rahul whipped towards midwicket. Virat Kohli quickly moved towards the right and used the reverse cup technique to catch the ball, however, the ball slumped from his hands as KL Rahul got a lifeline.

The second of Virat Kohli dropped catches vs Punjab came on the last ball of the 18th over bowled by Navdeep Saini. KL Rahul tried to hit the slower ball bowled by Saini over long-off but miscued it. Virat Kohli, who came in running, once again made a mess of it as he gave away another lifeline to the Punjab captain. KL Rahul made full use of the opportunity as he then took the Bangalore bowlers to the cleaners. KL Rahul collected 42 runs in just 9 balls to propel his side to a gigantic total of 206/3.  

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