Punjab Kings’ South African speedster Kagiso Rabada has hailed Virat Kohli as the toughest batsman to face at the highest level of Cricket.
Kagiso Rabada made this statement just a day before facing Virat Kohli during Punjab Kings’ home match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru later today. The fascinating HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala will host the match and after hosting MS Dhoni in the previous game, the stadium is gearing up to host another icon of Indian cricket.
What did Kagiso Rabada say about Virat Kohli?
While talking to an Australian based company Willow Talk Podcast Recently, Kagiso Rabada praised (as usual) Indian batsman stalwart Virat Kohli. Rabada had already faced Kohli once before in IPL 2024 and before that, the duo had faced each other during a 2-match Test series in December-January.
The Indian team had traveled to South Africa for an all-format series and there Virat Kohli took on Kagiso Rabada in the red ball issue. In the first Test match at Centurion, Rabada had scalped Kohli for a score of 38. In the second innings, before the Proteas claimed victory. for an innings and 32 runs, the speedster had caught him off Marco Jansen’s delivery.
In the second Test which India won by 7 wickets, Kagiso Rabada again got rid of Virat Kohli for 46 and Marco Jansen claimed the latter in the other innings. So, the rivalry between Rabada and Kohli is huge and tonight the duo will add another chapter to that rivalry.
Ahead of the important clash between Punjab and Bengaluru, Kagiso Rabada has claimed that Virat Kohli’s determination to dominate is astonishing. Rabada feels that Kohli has it all covered in his game and highlighted the latter’s hunger for running and fitness, which has taken his game to the next level.
“It’s an extremely tough bowl for Virat Kohli. Because his will to come out on top is unbelievable. He has everything in his game. His hunger for runs is unbelievable, his fitness, his defence, he has a power play as well.” – Said Rabada via Willow Talk Podcast.
In fact, Virat Kohli is having another Indian Premier League season to remember this year. The former Indian captain has amassed 542 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 148 and currently averages 67.75. He has 4 half-centuries to his name and also has a century to show for it. Kohli is currently the leader in the Orange Cap race with Ruturaj Gaikwad trailing him by just 1 run.
Bengaluru aims to win only its second match in Dharamshala
In the clash between Punjab and Bengaluru, the North Indian team has the upper hand with 17 wins to its name. The South Indians, on the other hand, have won 15 of the 32 matches between them since 2008. In Dharamshala, Punjab and Bengaluru have only met once and tonight’s clash will be the second at the HPCA Stadium.
Punjab had defeated RCB by 111 runs during their previous meeting in Dharamshala in 2011.