Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) star studded batter Virat Kohli played a staggering knock of 77 runs in 49 balls and struck 11 fours and 2 sixes against the dangerous Punjab Kings (PBKS). It looked as if Virat Kohli was on a mission to make a statement that he is not finished yet in the shortest format of the game. Virat Kohli was slowly getting into the groove against CSK but couldn’t capitalize on a start.
Vintage Virat Kohli
PBKS had set a competitive total of 177 runs for RCB. Virat Kohli got a life when he was on 0 but later the batter played smartly. In the very first over, Virat Kohli smashed Sam Curran for 4 fours and Curran was highly disappointed. The star right handed batter Virat Kohli has received a lot of flak for his strike rate but against PBKS, he was in the beast mode.
Virat Kohli on a roll
Virat Kohli would be slightly dejected that he couldn’t help the team get over the finish line as in the 16th over he was dismissed by his former RCB mate Harshal Patel. The peculiarity of Virat Kohli’s knock was that he used the crease quite brilliantly which frustrated the opposition team captain Shikhar Dhawan and PBKS’ bowling unit.
Virat Kohli was quite animated on the field and he along with Faf du Plessis were seen marshalling the troops smartly. The duo have been quite magnificent for the franchise. Virat Kohli during the post match presentation said that he is quite well aware of the fact that his name has been used for the expansion of the game.
Questions aplenty for RCB
RCB’s middle order once again was exposed as the likes of Cameron Green, Rajat Patidar & Glenn Maxwell couldn’t trouble the scorers which is a huge concern for the team. Perhaps, RCB’s management should make Cameron Green bat down the order and make him play the role of finisher. Rajat Patidar’s form is a massive problem who is finding new ways to get out.
RCB fans would be overjoyed with this win as the veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik played a match winning cameo of 28 runs in 10 balls as he struck 3 fours and 2 sixes and who knows he might be a part of India’s T20 WC 2024 squad if he performs in such way. The problem with RCB over the past decade or so has been that they don’t have reliable Indian batters and they are way too dependent on their top order. RCB’s next match is against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Bengaluru on 29th March 2024 which promises to be a cracker of a contest.
Also Read: IPL 2024: What Went Wrong For Punjab Kings (PBKS) Against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)