Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting superstar Virat Kohli once again launched an attack on his strike rate critics after playing a fantastic innings in the 58th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) led by Sam Curran. on Thursday, May 9, at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
Virat Kohli provided stability to the RCB team after they had a shaky start to the match and lost two wickets. He stood firm in the middle and tried to attack the bowlers in which he was very successful.
Kohli was well supported by the Punjab Kings fielders as they gave two lifelines to the batsman after he lost his catch. The 35-year-old seemed in no mood to stop and he played an attacking style of cricket throughout his innings.
Virat Kohli entered the 90s smashing a four and a six off Arshdeep Singh and was trying to reach the three-figure mark with a boundary. However, one of his shots did not land well and he was caught by Rilee Rossouw in the 18th over, falling short of a century by 8 runs. Kohli finished his innings with 92 runs off 47 balls, with 7 fours and 6 sixes, and batted at a strike rate of 195.74.
Virat Kohli also achieved several milestones during his sensational innings against Punjab Kings. He became the first player to surpass the 600-run mark in IPL 2024 and overall, this was the fourth time for him to achieve this feat in the history of the tournament. He also became the first player in IPL history to score more than 1000 runs against 3 teams in an IPL season.
I was just focused on riding the momentum – Virat Kohli
Speaking during the mid-innings break, Virat Kohli once again criticized his strike rate critics, saying that he needed to keep his scoring rate high throughout the innings. Kohli said:
“It was important for me to maintain the strike rate during the innings (laughs). I was just concentrating on building momentum. There was a tough phase when Rajat came out, and there was a break for rain and hail. I had a bit of momentum. I had to rebuild for 8-10 balls. Once the foundation was set and Cam got some boundaries away, I thought I had to go again.”
Talking about the pitch, Virat Kohli said that it was quite dry and felt like a two-step wicket. Virat Kohli explained:
“The surface was quite dry underneath and there was also some grass coverage. If you saw that Faf and I ended up due to lack of rhythm off the court. There was a two-rhythm feeling with the new ball, which I think is a great advantage”. opportunities for our players to make early breakthroughs and exploit that swing.”
Virat Kohli also opined that the target of 230+ was an even score in Dharamshala. He said:
“We thought anything above 230 would be a good total here. That was the only mindset. That was a great over from Harshal in the last over, otherwise we would have had more than 250.”
Virat Kohli was also asked to share his opinion on PBKS debutant Vidwath Kaverappa who bagged two wickets in the match. Kohli elaborated:
“It’s difficult to analyze someone in a game (talking about Kaverappa). He has swing in his hand. That’s what happens when you’re playing your first game and people haven’t played you: you get away with it. You try to calculate by making variations and stuff like that. Kudos to him: he bowled good areas, but after three overs, when he came for the fourth over, we knew the swing was done and then we went after him.