Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Virat Kohli of the has disclosed his exchange with skipper Faf du Plessis before of the 187-run chase against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Thursday, May 18.
After being assigned to bat first, SRH used the sheer brilliance of their wicketkeeper batsman Heinrich Klaasen’s 51-ball 104 to boost their total to 186/5.
In a must-win game for RCB, openers Kohli and du Plessis put on a 172-run stand to set the stage for an easy chase.
Kohli changed gears in the 15th over, slamming four boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He then flicked one for a six over mid-wicket to complete his sixth IPL century. The former Indian captain got out for 100 off 63 balls, including 12 fours and 4 sixes in his innings.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore finally won by eight wickets after completing the chase in 19.2 overs. RCB removed Mumbai Indians from the fourth position in the points table due to a better net run rate (+0.18).
Virat Kohli stated:
“Just before we went in to bat, we had a conversation, and Faf said that I have a gut feel that one of the top three is going to get a hundred. Then I said the odds someone getting a hundred looks like you right now because of the way you are batting. He said I think it’s you.”
“I honestly didn’t feel like it’s going to happen so quickly in two-three overs time but I am more happy about the fact that we got a decent start. That partnership really set things nicely for us. You know the crunch game and this is exactly what we play for.”
“I wanted to pick my game at this stage” – Virat Kohli
Given his struggles to score runs in the previous season (341 runs at 22.73), Virat Kohli has had a great season in IPL 2023. Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell have scored the bulk of their team’s runs this season.
Kohli has 538 runs in 13 innings, with a strike rate of 135.86. He scored 6 fifties and a century. However the former RCB captain believed he was not contributing enough with the bat.
Kohli stated:
“I have been batting in the nets. I couldn’t really bring that game to the surface in the middle. I just felt this pitch was nice enough with the new ball specially. I wanted to pick my game at this stage because I felt you (Faf) and Maxie have really taken your game to the next level. I just wanted to join and make an impact as well.”
On Sunday, May 21, RCB will play their last league match against Gujarat Titans at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.