Bengaluru: He played with an authority, almost an arrogance that was dazzling to watch and mostly impossible to contend with. Through one-and-half hours, he cut, hooked and pulled-in a valorous idiom, yielding boundaries with his bountiful blade. Virat Kohli’s 108 off 58 balls against Rising Super Punegiants at M Chinnasway Stadium on Saturday, which Royal Challengers Bangalore won by seven wickets, was a testimony of his technical purity, unflappable temperament, a fondness for the big stage and that ability to patiently construct an innings under all condition.

Happy with his innings that gave his team the much-needed victory, skipper Virat Kohli said that he was pretty determined tonight. “The last time in Hyderabad we had to chase down 192 and we were pumped up. Today, I was motivated to go that extra mile and we needed to win six out of seven to qualify. I'm just happy we could pull that one off. It's never easy in a chase when you need to find boundaries at the right time.”

In all praise for KL Rahul and Shane Watson, he said that they made brilliant contributions to the winning cause. “I always check my heart rate (laughs), if it's fine then I can take better decisions. It's all about keeping your nerves and enthusiasm in check. I try to focus on myself and what I need to do and I convince myself completely before going for it. When you are chasing 12-13 per over and losing wickets, you can't bog down. You'd rather pick an area and get your boundaries there. It's about understanding the situation and doing what suits best at that time. Even today I was not keen on celebrating too much after the hundred, the victory matters more for the team.”