RCB climbed to the top of the points table after beating the strong Delhi Capitals side in their own backyard. Their domination in away games continues. Krunal Pandya and Virat Kohli stepped up for them and made a crucial partnership in the chase of 163, which granted the visitors a comfortable six-wicket win.
Virat Kohli Chase Master
RCB is yet to lose a game while chasing in IPL 2025. They have won four out of four so far. Virat Kohli scored half-centuries in all four matches. He has been their backbone while they chased. Virat didn’t cross 30 runs in 3 matches at Chinnaswamy, and RCB lost all 3 games. This shows that his innings has a great impact on the team’s performance.
Virat Kohli’s low strike rate
Virat Kohli scored 51 runs off 47 balls in a strike rate of 108.51. This is his lowest strike rate in an IPL innings after scoring a fifty. He scored 58 runs off 53 balls against GT in 2022, at a strike rate of 109.43. That was the lowest before yesterday’s innings.
But his knock didn’t affect the team’s victory because, after losing three early wickets in powerplay. Krunal Pandya was able to go for shots because Virat was standing at the other end.
Virat Kohli’s 400 runs
Virat has scored 443 runs in this season and holds the orange cap currently. This is he 11th time he has scored more than 400 runs in a season. He holds the record of scroing 400-plus runs for more seasons in IPL history. Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner stand at the second place by doing it 9 times.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar climbs to 2nd place
Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked 3 wickets against DC for 33 runs in his 4-over spell. With that, he climbs to the second spot for leading wicket takers on IPL history with 193 wickets. Piyush Chawla ( 192 wickets ) moves down to the third place. Yuzvendra Chahal tops the list with 214 wickets. Bhuvneshwar has a chance to become the second bowler to take 200 wickets in this season.
2nd IPL fifty for Krunal Pandya
Krunal Pandya scored his second half-century in the IPL after 9 years. His first IPL fifty came in his debut season, 2016, where he was playing for the Mumbai Indians against the Delhi Capitals. He got a promotion to the No.5 position in the batting order in that match and smashed 86 runs off just 37 balls, and RCB chased down 163 with 1.3 overs left, and earlier they were in a precarious position at 26-3 in 4 overs.
Krunal waited 9 long years to score his second half-century in the league. He was a potential batter, but faded away due to the strong batting lineup of MI those days, and he never got many opportunities to showcase his batting skills. But whenever he got a chance, he never failed to prove his ability.
2017 IPL final was one example of that. MI were in danger of getting all out under 100. They were reduced to 79/7 in 14.1 overs. Krunal Pandya, who came to bat at no.5, took charge from there and scored 47 runs off 38 balls, which helped MI to post a respectable total of 129 runs, and they won that final by just 1 run.
RCB can hope that he will bring such similar performance for them to win their maiden title.
6 consecutive away wins
Yesterday, after beating DC at Delhi, RCB have won 6 consecutive away games this season so far. They became the first team to do so. GT has won 5 consecutive away games in 2023, and RCB broke that record yesterday. If they maintain the streak of winning all the away games for the rest of the season, they might end up winning the trophy.
Also Read:Â DC vs RCB : Krunal Pandya’s All-Round Brilliance & Virat Kohli Stun DC In A Thriller