Sunil Gavaskar reveals potential reason behind Virat Kohli's consistency

In the third ODI match against New Zealand Team India suffered a loss by 41 runs at the Holkar Stadium in IndoreDespite the defeat stalwart Virat Kohli continued his rich vein of form Facing 108 deliveries he smashed 124 runs with the help of 10 boundaries and three maximumsFollowing his blistering knock legendary Team India batsman Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on Kohli by saying that he plays according to the match situation The former cricketer also feels that the potential reason behind Kohlis consistency is playing according to situations and not sticking to an imageThe thing about him is that hes not tied down to an image A lot of batters and bowlers are constrained by how theyre perceived and they feel they must live up to that image Virat isnt like that Hes tied to the job at hand and that job is to score runs Sometimes that means starting watchfully and then opening up Sometimes it means attacking early and then spreading the field and picking up ones and twos Hes not governed by expectations of how he should play That temperament is the key He doesnt think Im expected to hit a six He plays according to the situation He never gives up Even till the end he was trying Perhaps the gloves got a bit sweaty and the grip went slightly which is why the bat face turned and he was caught near the boundary ropes For youngsters thats the biggest lesson dont live up to an image Play the situation and youll be far more consistent than you ever imagined he said on JioStarAlong with Kohli Indias pacer Harshit Rana also delivered a crucial knock He faced 43 balls and smashed 52 runs including four boundaries and the same number of maximumsSpeaking about his knock Gavaskar said that the pacer batted exactly the way a lowerorder batsman should have without any worriesIt was a very good innings by Harshit Rana He batted exactly like a lowerorder batter should without worry and without expectations He knew his job was to swing the bat If he connected great if not no worries There were short balls he tried to slice but didnt quite get hold of and that didnt frustrate him He understood that if you pitch it up he can hammer it and if you bowl it halfway down where the ball is coming nicely he can hit you for a six Thats exactly what he did he saidThe former cricketer also feels that whenever a player gets the opportunity to bat with Kohli or Sachin Tendulkar he wants to savour that momentWhat impressed me was that Harshit didnt get hassled by earlier failures especially with someone like Virat Kohli at the other end How many people get the opportunity to bat with a Kohli or a Tendulkar You want to savour every moment and stay there as long as you can At the end of the over when such great players talk to you maybe say keep going or that was a good shot those are memories you carry for life added the 76yearold former cricketerWith ANI Inputs