After five defeats on the trot, the Royal Challengers Bangalore needed a bit of inspiration to lift their game in the Women’s Premier League. And in Virat Kohli, they found the right person for some pep talk that helped them snap their string of losses.

Talented all-rounder Kanika Ahuja said it was a discussion with India batting great Kohli, who has been the face of RCB’s men’s team for years, which fired her up as she blasted a rapid 46 off 30 balls to help her team beat UP Warriorz on Wednesday.

“Virat Sir told us there is nothing about pressure here, it is all about the pleasure,” Ahuja, a 20-year-old from Punjab, said as she soaked in the spotlight in her first-ever media conference.

Kohli skipped Team India’s option training session to meet RCB’s women’s squad on Wednesday.

“He told us to not put ourselves in pressure when we are out there in the middle. He said it is a matter of pleasure that we are getting to play here, not everyone gets such an opportunity,” said Ahuja, who wants to bat 360 degrees like Suryakumar Yadav.

What else did Kohli say? “I’ve been playing IPL for 15 years. And I haven’t won it yet. But that doesn’t stop me from being excited every year. That’s the effort I can put into every game and every tournament that I play,” Kohli was heard saying in a video which was posted by RCB on Twitter. “Always think about the opportunity that you have rather than how bad it is right now.”

Written with inputs from PTI