Royal Challengers Bengaluru player Virat Kohli reacted in a humorous way. Fans cheered, wanting him to bowl. This happened during the match against Mumbai Indians. It was the 25th IPL 2024 game. The teams played at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on April 11th.
In the second half of the game, Mumbai batsmen hit RCB’s bowlers hard. Fans called for Faf du Plessis to give Virat Kohli the ball. The chant rang out: ‘Let Kohli bowl!’ Near the boundary, Kohli heard this. He grinned, shaking his head – no wish to bowl today!
Virat Kohli looked amused when fans wanted him bowling. His funny reaction suggested leaving that task to others.
You may see Virat Kohli’s reaction to the chanting in the following posts:
Virat Kohli’s Poor Form with the Bat Leads to RCB’s 7-Wicket Loss to MI
The toss went against RCB, who batted first. Virat Kohli, the orange cap holder, had an unusual batting failure, departing early while attacking Jasprit Bumrah. Faf du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik, and Rajat Patidar shone, scoring 61, 53, and 50 respectively. Their efforts propelled RCB to 196/8, a fighting total on the flat pitch.
Faf du Plessis (61), Dinesh Karthik (53), and Rajat Patidar (50) were the visiting team’s best batsmen. They brought them to a fighting total of 196/8 on a level surface.
In retrospect, the total was far lower than expected, as MI hitters put on a show in the second innings, propelling their team to victory in only 15.3 overs. Opener Ishan Kishan (69) got things underway with a powerful blow. Suryakumar Yadav (52) then put them ahead with an 18-ball half-century, capping an impressive recovery from an injury layoff.
RCB captain Faf du Plessis reflected on his team’s effort following a disappointing loss, saying:
“It’s a tough pill to swallow. It’s a combination of two things – The dew made it harder and the Mumbai batters batted brilliantly to put the pressure on our bowlers. We thought the dew would come in and we have to score around 215 but 196 wasn’t good enough. The ball is really wet and it’s a only sport where the conditions will make an impact.”
Faf du Plessis
Du Plessis added:
“We lost crucial wickets at crucial stages and the fluency wasn’t there. From a batting perspective, we have to score 220 because we don’t have weapons in our bowling. We need to find our creative ways in the bowling because it seems that we were always on the back foot after the end of five overs.”
Faf du Plessis
RCB will meet SRH in the IPL 2024 on April 15 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.