Indian star Virat Kohli, showing his perennial class, clubbed his ninth IPL hundred on Wednesday to fire Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a spectacular six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur. The megastar played an amazing knock, becoming the fastest batter to notch up 14,000 T20 runs. Chasing a challenging target of 193, RCB lost opener Jacob Bethell early, but chasemaster Kohli, who headed into the match carrying the burden of two consecutive ducks, remained unbeaten on 105 off 60 to guide his side to a dazzling win.

"Well, I just love batting, even after all this. You know, that's my core feeling. Look, what an honour to be playing at this level. What an honour to be competing with the very best in the world still,” Virat Kohli said after the match. 

“This is all I've done all my life. Cricket is absolutely something that I truly love. And I just give my heart and soul out there on the field, whether I'm fielding or batting, because it's going to finish one day."

“And I want to make the most of every day that I'm on the field and just enjoy myself and have a lot of fun and look forward to a pressure situation, look forward to scenarios where I'm feeling a bit of heat. And then I challenge myself to say, 'You know what, just go for it. And when you cross the line, it makes you a better player. And sport, as you know, teaches you a lot as a person as well. So you build your character slowly and surely when you keep performing under pressure.

"And for me, even after all these years and numbers and whatever you said, it's still the love for the game. I just love hitting the ball in the middle of the bat. And that joy is still there. And it's all God's grace. And I'm very thankful and grateful,” said Kohli.

Kohli, despite blasting a heroic century, kept his celebration rather modest. When asked about it, Kohli maintained that his sole goal remains to contribute consistently to the team's success. 

"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 cause. And I know if I bat for long enough in the game, our chances of winning become higher. The fact that I didn't get many runs in the last two games eats me up in a way that I know I can play well, and I am hitting the ball well, but when you don't carry on and you have not created that impact for the team, it bothers you because that's basically been the goal all these years: trying to improve so that you can be the best version for your team when you play out there and make an impact. So century or no century, the more important thing is finishing the game, making sure that I was out there till the end to get those two points which puts us at the top of the table," Kohli said.

Touching upon his work ethics, Virat Kohli highlighted how pressure plays a key role in improving the game and keeping you focused.  

"There's a reason why people say pressure is a privilege. It actually keeps you humble, keeps you focused, makes you work hard and practise again. You cannot take things for granted. Good pressure always helps you improve your game. I was in the nets working harder, training harder. You tend to win when you are playing well; you tend to kind of taper off a little bit with your intensity and focus. But I think a couple of games that don't go your way, you start feeling a bit of nervousness, and it helps you to go out there and work on your game and back yourself even more, which takes a lot of effort out of you," Kohli said.

"But then I think you go a level up and you keep improving your game little by little. At the end of the day when you look back, those failures are so important because they put you back into the place that gets you performances in the first place. And it does not let you go off your intense best. I think that's why people say pressure is a privilege. And of course I was nervous; I just wanted to get off the mark," Kohli added.