Continuing his free-scoring run in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday, former India skipper Virat Kohli smashed a quick-fire half-century to help Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) thrash Delhi Capitals (DC) in the match No.20 of the cash-rich tournament. Kohli top-scored for Faf Du Plessis and Co. as RCB registered a 23-run win over David Warner's men at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Kohli brought out an aggressive celebration after completing his third half-century of the IPL 2023. The 34-year-old was earlier castigated by Simon Doull for prioritising 'personal milestones' in the elite T20 tournament. Responding to his critics in RCB's recently concluded IPL 2023 encounter with Delhi Capitals, Kohli notched up his half-century in 33 balls. The former RCB skipper scored 50 off 34 balls as Du Plessis' men posted a match-winning total of 174-6 in 20 overs.
Reflecting on his crucial knock, Kohli revealed that he was disappointed with his dismissal. The batting icon was hoping to punish Lalit Yadav for bowling a full toss which eventually led to his dismissal in the 11th over. "I was quite disappointed that I got out to a full toss. I've been playing really well. I wanted to make sure that after fifty, I was targetting 30-35 runs off the next 10 balls. That's how I play. That would've helped us get past 200. One thing I mentioned to the guys in the change room that 175 was enough on this pitch. It slowed down considerably when the spinners came on. Even the balls to hit off the back foot off Kuldeep were holding up, unlike the other games we played. We did well to get to that score and had the belief it was enough," Kohli said after the match.
{{/usCountry}}Reflecting on his crucial knock, Kohli revealed that he was disappointed with his dismissal. The batting icon was hoping to punish Lalit Yadav for bowling a full toss which eventually led to his dismissal in the 11th over. "I was quite disappointed that I got out to a full toss. I've been playing really well. I wanted to make sure that after fifty, I was targetting 30-35 runs off the next 10 balls. That's how I play. That would've helped us get past 200. One thing I mentioned to the guys in the change room that 175 was enough on this pitch. It slowed down considerably when the spinners came on. Even the balls to hit off the back foot off Kuldeep were holding up, unlike the other games we played. We did well to get to that score and had the belief it was enough," Kohli said after the match.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli struck six fours and one six in his entertaining knock of against Delhi Capitals in match No.20 of the IPL 2023. The ex-India captain has secured the third spot in the Orange Cap standings after playing a sublime knock against Delhi Capitals. Kohli has scored 214 runs in the first 4 matches of the IPL this season. The RCB icon also achieved a special milestone in the cash-rich league on Saturday. Kohli completed 2,500 IPL runs at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. The batting maestro holds the record for smashing the most IPL runs (2,539) at a single venue.
“When I've played my best cricket, those are the balls I've put away consistently (length balls on the up). That helps me to put pressure on the bowlers. When I put away their best balls, they're going to try to do something else. I back myself to hit good balls and the best bowlers in the opposition. That's how I motivate myself to play out there. Very happy to get two points. We kind of let it slip away last two games. For us to bounce back like this was very crucial. That was a different mentality and phase altogether (T20 World Cup 2016 semis). I was in a space where I felt I could hit any ball. I back myself to hit good shots. When they come off they look good,” Kohli concluded.