On April 23rd, Royal Challengers Bangalore secured their second consecutive IPL 2023 win under the leadership of Virat Kohli, defeating Rajasthan Royals by seven runs in a high-scoring match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Kohli has shown no signs of rust and has led the team well in the last two matches, successfully defending a target of 190 against Rajasthan Royals despite the small boundaries at the venue. RCB’s regular captain Faf du Plessis, suffered a minor injury during their match against CSK and has played as an impact substitute in the last two games. In his absence, the team management has given the captaincy to Kohli, who previously led the team until IPL 2021.
Kohli remained calm when RR’s top-order batters Devdutt Padikkal and Yashasvi Jaiswal were going strong with their 98-run partnership. He continued to challenge the duo until David Willey separated them in the 12th over. Kohli then used Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga to disrupt RR’s momentum further. The visiting team never recovered and finished at 182/6. RCB fans are delighted with the team’s consistent performances under Kohli’s leadership.
Here are some of the best reactions from fans on Twitter:
We want Virat Kohli as permanent captain of RCB pic.twitter.com/sP13t2UXgw
— leisha (@katyxkohli17) April 23, 2023
“Maxi took the game away in just four overs”: Virat Kohli
At the post-match presentation, winning captain Virat Kohli praised Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell for their outstanding partnership in the first innings. Du Plessis scored 62 runs from 39 balls, while Maxwell made 77 from 44.
“To be honest, we had that discussion during the toss, the pitch looked dry, and I mentioned that it will slow down with the guys having 10 overs under lights which is very difficult. The advantage was that the ball got scuffed up, but with the impact player rule, the game is always on till the end. That’s why we’ve had so many close games.”
“The counter-attack from Maxi and Faf was even better than the Chennai game; it was a better surface that day, Maxi took the game away in just four overs. That was one of the best counter-attacking partnerships I have seen. We thought 160 might be enough, but the way they batted helped us to 190 and put us in a commanding position.”