Kohli displays alternative arsenal to counter spin ahead of T20 WC

Virat Kohli continued his stellar form in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a dazzling 92 runs off just 47 balls against the Punjab Kings on Thursday.

With his knock, Kohli extended his lead at the top of the run-scorers list (634 runs in 12 matches) in the IPL, becoming the first batter this season to breach the 600-run barrier.

One of the key aspects of the innings was the use of the slog sweep against the spinners and after yet another whirlwind knock, Kohli spoke about bringing back the shot from his wide arsenal to counter the spinners.

"I've brought out the slog-sweep to the spinners (laughs). I just mentally put myself in that situation and I didn't practice it at all," Kohli said after winning the Player-of-the-Match award.

"I know I can hit it because I've hit it a lot in the past. So, I just felt like I need to take a bit more risk and for me that shot was something that I used to hit regularly back in the day. And that's allowing me to hit off the back foot as well because I'm always looking to expose that side of the field against the spin.

"For me, that has been a massive factor in this IPL. So, I think it just takes a bit more conviction and take out that thought that props up: 'what if you get out'.

"I've been managing to stay ahead of that thought in this IPL and that's really helped me in the middle overs in this IPL, keeping my strike rate up and keeping the scoring rate going for the team as well."

While the India star has piled up a mountain of runs, his strike rate and his effectiveness against spin bowling had become a hot topic of debate in recent weeks.

Last month, following his innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kohli faced criticism for his knock of 51 off 43 balls, which yielded a strike rate of 118.60. While he started briskly, scoring 32 runs from his initial 18 balls, he struggled to maintain momentum, managing only 19 runs in the subsequent 25 balls.

However, the India No.3 bounced back with 70* off 44 balls against Gujarat Titans, a game where he showed the effectiveness of the sweep shot against Noor Ahmad, Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore.

After the game, he hit back at the critics saying, "All the people who talk about strike rates and me not playing spin well are the ones who love talking about this stuff. But for me, it's just about winning the game for the team.

"And there's a reason why you do it for 15 years - because you've done this day in [and] day out; you've won games for your teams."

Kohli's impressive recent performances with the bat signal promising times ahead for the Indian team as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup next month in the West Indies and USA.

India's campaign kicks off against Ireland on 5 June before they take on Pakistan on 9 June at the newly-constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

They will later play tournament co-hosts USA (12 June) and Canada (15 June) to wrap up their Group A matches.