I take an ‘L’ on that one: Ian Bishop apologises for hyping up Virat Kohli's knock vs RR amidst strike rate criticism

Virat Kohli reached his fifty in 39 balls and Bishop who was in the commentary box hyped the batting maestro after he reached the mark.'

Legendary West Indies cricketer Ian Bishop admitted that he did commit a mistake while praising Virat Kohli during commentary in Saturday's IPL 2024 clash between Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Kohli scored a century on Saturday but faced criticism for his strike rate as it was the joint-slowest in IPL history. Kohli reached the mark in 67 balls and went on to score an unbeaten 113 runs off 72 balls at a strike rate of 156.94.

Ian Bishop faced criticism for hyping up Virat Kohli's knock vs RR. (X and PTI Image)

Kohli looked in control but he didn't get much support from the other end in the second half of the innings which forced him to play the anchor's role.

The former RCB skipper reached his fifty in 39 balls and Bishop who was in the commentary box hyped the batting maestro after he reached the mark.

The Windies legend faced criticism on social media for his remark after completing his half-century.

A fan wrote on X,"@irbishi said just 39 deliveries. After virat completed his 50 someone needs to tell him ipl is a 20 over tournament not 50 I know they are paying you to praise big plyrs but still call what it is 39 ball 50 on a batting track is a joke."

Bishop admitted he made the inaccurate choice of words in commentary hyping up Kohli's fifty.

"Believe you me, I am very aware of what batting in this format entails. I was inaccurate in my choice of words. That’s on me. I am not the devil,,,,,,not yet. But thanks for your feedback. It’s appreciated," Bishop replied to the post.

The other fan wrote, "Bish says on air kohli completed his fifty in just 39 balls. You disappointed me @irbishi."

The legendary cricketer apologised for his choice of words.

"I take an “L” on that one. I am very aware of what T20 batting entails, and my insertion of that word was inaccurate. My choice of words and language in keeping with the format of the game needs to be more accurate and it will be going forward. Apologies," he wrote.

Kohli's century was trumped by Jos Buttler's 100-run knock as the RR star played with a better strike rate and helped his team register a 6-wicket win with five balls to spare. With the defeat, things have gotten tricky for RCB in the playoffs race with four losses in five matches.