'Don't care...': Virat Kohli silences critics with 'I know how to win games' remark after 6th IPL ton - Watch

Virat Kohli slammed an impressive 63-ball 100 in Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in match 65 of IPL 2023 edition on Thursday evening (May 18) in Hyderabad. In a must-win game for his franchise, Kohli stood tall as he came out all guns blazing and struck at a whopping 158.78with his inning laced with 12 fours and 4 sixes.

Since Kohli has broken his century drought, in September 2022, the right-hander has been on a run-scoring spree with hundreds in all formats and now also in the IPL. This was Kohli's 6th IPL ton, overall, and his first since the 2019 edition. While he has been among runs in recent times, critics have still raised questions on his strike rate.

Even in the ongoing IPL edition, Kohli's strike rate has often gone down especially in the middle overs -- versus spinners. Nonetheless, he didn't slow down during his entire knock versus SRH and was in a punishable mode. After the match, the 34-year-old opened up on his hundred and took a dig at his critics over strike rate talks.

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'Don't care what anyone says...I know how to win games'

“I was telling the boys - the way I'm looked at as an IPL player as well is like 'yeah, he's fine, a few impact knocks'. But it's my 6th IPL hundred. I don't give enough credit to myself. I never look at past records (not great numbers against SRH),” Kohli told Deep Dasgupta in the presentation ceremony.

"I put myself under so much stress already. I don't care what anyone says on the outside, because that's their opinion. It's like… when you are in that situation yourself, you know how to win games of cricket and I've done that for a long period of time. It's not like I don't win games for my team. It's playing the situation (that) I take pride in."

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“I've never been a guy who plays so many fancy shots and throws my wicket away. It's Test cricket (coming up) after the IPL, so I have to stay true to my technique. When I can make impact in an important game, it gives me confidence, and gives the team confidence,” Kohli added.

RCB have now moved to the fourth spot in the IPL 2023 points table with 14 points, and a Net Run Rate of +0.180, with one game to play. They will host defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT), in Bengaluru, in match 70 and need another win to qualify for the playoffs.