Vintage Virat Kohli was on the display on Wednesday as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru locked horns with the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. The clash saw the defending champions recording a six-wicket win to solidify their position at the top of the standings. However, apart from the victory it was Kohli’s ninth IPL century that sent fans into a frenzy. Notably, Kohli was unable to score runs in the last two matches, and hence, his comeback was no less than an emotional occasion for the fans and fraternity.

During his knock, Kohli was seen in a surprisingly relaxed and chill mood, taking the knock one ball at a time. The chasemaster was also seen grooving to some tunes, and having conversations with the players on the field. One such conversation of Kohli with Devdutt Paddikkal went viral on social media. In that conversation, the former RCB skipper could be heard telling his teammate, “Ab toh India ke liye thodi khelna hai, ab toh har shot lagega (Don’t have to play for India anymore, now every shot will be hit.)”

Virat Kohli reveals the reason behind quite celebration after hitting ninth IPL century

The talismanic batter, who has now recorded the most number of centuries in the history of the tournament, had a very low-key celebration of his ninth hundred. Considering how he came up with one of the best knocks of his career, many expected it to be a quite emotional celebration. However, that wasn’t the case. In fact, Kohli kept it very quiet and simply raised his bat without taking off his helmet.

On being asked the reason behind the same, he said, “Well, the celebration wasn’t a big one because we know the importance of the points right now. For me, it’s a conscious effort to try and contribute to the team’s scores. And I know if I bat for long enough in the game, our chances of winning become higher.”

“So, century or no century, I think the more important thing is finishing the game, making sure that I was out there till the end to get those two points, which again, puts us at the top of the table," he added.

Notably, Kohli is currently seeded third in the Orange Cap standings with 484 runs behind Heinrcih Klassen (508) and Sai Sudharsan (501) runs.