Batting icons Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma continued to rewrite history in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) kickstarted their campaign with a win over Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday. While MI skipper Rohit has joined legendary MS Dhoni on an elite list, run-machine Kohli slammed a quick-fire half-century to equal veteran Australian David Warner’s staggering feat in IPL.
Champions in five editions of the world's richest T20 league, Rohit's Mumbai Indians launched their title bid for a record-extending sixth crown with an embarrassing trounce on Sunday. The Men In Blue locked horns with Faf du Plessis' Royal Challengers Bangalore in match No.5 of the IPL 2023 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Scripting history in domestic cricket's biggest extravaganza, Rohit equalled Dhoni's spectacular by recording his 200th appearance as the leader of the T20 side.
Achieving the special milestone during RCB's match against MI, Rohit joined an elite list of players with 200 appearances as captain of a T20 side. Only Rohit, Dhoni and Daren Sammy have captained their respective T20 teams in 200 matches. The second Indian player to lead a side in 200 T20 matches, Rohit is also the most successful player in the history of IPL. Rohit has guided Mumbai Indians to 5 IPL titles in his glittering career.
{{/usCountry}}Achieving the special milestone during RCB's match against MI, Rohit joined an elite list of players with 200 appearances as captain of a T20 side. Only Rohit, Dhoni and Daren Sammy have captained their respective T20 teams in 200 matches. The second Indian player to lead a side in 200 T20 matches, Rohit is also the most successful player in the history of IPL. Rohit has guided Mumbai Indians to 5 IPL titles in his glittering career.
{{/usCountry}}On a record-setting outing as a captain, senior batter Rohit failed to deliver the goods with the willow against RCB. The veteran batter was dismissed for 1 off 10 balls at Bengaluru. While Rohit had a forgetful outing, his India teammate Kohli propelled RCB to an impressive win over MI at home. Kohli top-scored for Du Plessis' RCB in the high-scoring contest between the two teams.
Kickstarting his IPL 2023 with a sublime half-century against Mumbai, the 34-year-old also joined Warner in the elite list of batters with a half-century of 50-plus scores. Only Kohli and Warner have registered fifty 50-plus scores in the IPL. While Kohli has achieved the incredible feat 50 times, Warner has notched up 50-plus individual scores on 60 occasions.
After Warner and Kohli, Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan (49), RCB legend AB de Villiers (43) and MI skipper Rohit (41) have registered the most 50-plus scores in the IPL. Talking about the recently concluded encounter, Kohli and Du Plessis stitched the fourth-highest opening partnership (148) against Mumbai Indians in the cash-rich league. Kohli's impressive 84* knock of 46 balls sealed an eight-wicket win for RCB at Bengaluru.