Watch: Virat Kohli’s manic celebrations after captaincy return give goosebumps to RCB fans during PBKS clash in IPL

Virat Kohli produced a captaincy masterclass as the RCB icon rolled back the years for fans in match No.27 of the IPL 2023 against PBKS.

Back at the helm to lead Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the 141st time in his glittering T20 career, run-machine Virat Kohli took over the captaincy reins from Faf du Plessis for a one-off match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Thursday. The talismanic batter of the Bangalore-based franchise stunned everyone when he walked out for the traditional coin toss on matchday 27 of the IPL 2023 between RCB and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the famous Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium.

Virat Kohli produced a captaincy masterclass as the RCB icon rolled back the years for fans in match No.27 of the IPL 2023 against PBKS. (IPL)

With Du Plessis nursing a rib injury, Kohli became the stand-in skipper of the Bangalore-based franchise at Mohali. Making the most of the Impact Player rule, Du Plessis opened the innings for Bangalore and played a crucial knock for Kohli and Co. against PBKS. After top-scoring for RCB, Du Plessis was replaced by Vyshak Kumar while Kohli marshalled his troops in the action-packed encounter between Bangalore and Punjab at Mohali.

Kohli, who guided RCB to the final of the IPL back in 2016, scored a gritty half-century to help Bangalore post a match-winning total against Punjab Kings. The run-machine also shattered multiple records with his sublime 59-run knock. Known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, Kohli produced a captaincy masterclass as the RCB icon rolled back the years for IPL fans. The 34-year-old decided to review an lbw decision during one of Mohammed Siraj's overs which paid RCB rich dividends.

Kohli also used star spinner Wanindue Hasaranga much earlier than regular skipper Du Plessis had done in the IPL 2023. Spinner Hasaranga cleaned up Matthew Short in the second over of PBKS innings. Kohli then took another review to help Siraj remove England power-hitter Liam Livingstone. An animated Kohli was all pumped up when Siraj outfoxed Harpreet Singh Bhatia with his brilliant direct hit prior to the end of the Powerplay.

Pacer Siraj bagged four wickets and leaked 21 runs as Kohli's RCB side defeated PBKS by 24 runs in the IPL 2023. "The table can't define your team. It's towards game 13 or 14 we can try and focus on what we need to do. Faf batted really well on that pitch. His innings ensured we had that 20-30 extra at the end. The pitch was very rough underneath, there was not enough water there I guess. There was hardly any sixes hit off the back foot against the spinners. The strategy was to bat deep to have a crack at 190. Told them (the bowlers) that the target was more than enough," Kohli said after the match.