Kohli has always led from the front but he knows his search for a maiden title will remain incomplete if the team doesn't perform in all departments.
It will be a test of Virat Kohli's tactical acumen against the ice-cool demeanour of Eoin Morgan when perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bangalore clash with former champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL Eliminator in Sharjah on Monday.
If RCB win their remaining two games, they will move to 20 points and have a chance of finishing in the top two.
A round-up of Ranji semi-finals played on Tuesday
The Delhi batsman recently became the most successful India captain in Test cricket, surpassing Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Ian Chappell's belief stems from India's incredible depth of talent and its success ratio of late.
India will surely fancy their chances of an encore, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The 3-0 series win against the West Indies could be called a precursor and the real battle begins now against Quinton de Kock's Proteas who are also in the midst of a tough transition.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings, in Sharjah, on Friday.
Dhoni's contract not being renewed is not exactly a surprise as he has not played a competitive game since that World Cup semifinal on July
Dhoni refused three singles in the 19th over bowled by Navdeep Saini
Bring on the 100-crore heroine's club already!
Virat Kohli was rested from the three-match T20I series against the West Indies.
The final figure of polling could increase and it will be available on Tuesday, officials said.
The Virat Kohli-led RCB has won five of its eight games on the back of all-round performances but seemingly blundered in the eight-wicket defeat to laggards KXIP on Thursday.
A look at how the teams stack up ahead of the mega auction.
A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
Images from the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
On the other hand, the Royals have managed to win only one of their three fixtures. They lost to Chennai Super Kings in their previous match to slip down to the sixth spot. Sanju Samson and his men will be eyeing a second win.
Lockie Ferguson's inclusion gave the much-needed impetus to the side, but KKR are still struggling with their star all-rounder Andre Russell who capped yet another flop show with the bat.
RCB will be strengthened further when the immensely-talented Devdutt Padikkal makes the team after his recovery from COVID-19.
The e-commerce story in India has begun to look up.
'The UPA was never soft on Pakistan, terrorists and even China, but Sonia Gandhi's Congress rightly earned a "soft" image on issues of hard national interest, leaving the field open for Modi to take it and wrap it around with his implicit Hindutva,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Aseem Chhabra picks the finest Indian films in the 2010-2019 decade.
For KKR, the biggest cause of concern will be the availability of big-hitter Andre Russell, who hurt his knee when he dived into the advertisement boards after missing a catch on Saturday.
Abhimanyu Mithun claimed a third five-for of the season as Vidarbha collapsed for 185 before Karnataka were left reeling at 36 for three on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final in Kolkata.
Ahead of Thursday's Indian Premier League player auction, Royal Challengers Banglore captain Virat Kohli assured the fans that they will cover all bases and pick a strong team for the next edition of IPL. Ahead of this year's IPL auction, RCB had released 12 players from their squad, while retaining 13.
It all starts in Guwahati on Sunday as the biggest city in Assam is slowly getting back to normalcy after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The spin duo of Krishnappa Gowtham and Karn Sharma shared nine wickets between them as India Red skittled out India Green for 157 on the second day of the Duleep Trophy match in Lucknow.
Soaked in patriotism, hundreds of Indians on Monday proudly marked the country's 70th Independence Day, as the tricolour fluttered and the national anthem reverberated at Indian missions across the world.
India 'A' bowlers fought back with a flurry of wickets in the final session to reduce the West Indies 'A' to 243 for five, on Day 1 of the second unofficial Test.
Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore have won only three games out of 10 in IPL-12 so far.
Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore go into the virtual quarter-final, having lost four and three games on the trot respectively
Veteran batsman Gautam Gambhir is all set to be released by the Indian team management as the Delhi and District Cricket Association's selection committee has named him in the 16-member Delhi squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan.
Both teams have been more than disappointing thus far in the IPL and need a win to revive their respective campaigns.
With Jasprit Bumrah "ready and roaring" after an injury scare, Mumbai Indians will fancy their chances against an erratic Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two star-studded teams square off in the IPL, in Bengaluru, on Thursday. The big sub-plot of the contest will be the world's best ODI batsman -- Virat Kohli -- taking guard against the world's best ODI bowler -- Bumrah -- in a format notorious for its unpredictability.
A look at Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL record over the years.
CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed the game against SRH due to a stiff back but is likely to be back for Sunday's match against Virat Kohli-led RCB.
Ishant made his Test debut as an 18-year-old in Bangladesh when Rahul Dravid was the captain and subsequently was led by Kumble, Dhoni, Kohli and Rahane during the last decade and half.
