The 23rd match of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has just ended. RCB defeated LSG by 5 wickets with five overs to spare and climbed to the top of the table. After the victory, Virat Kohli gave a speech after facing the orange cap.

Virat Kohli scored 49 off 34 balls and almost missed his half-century. The former RCB captain has been in sensational form and has scored 228 runs in 5 innings at an average of 57. Virat has scored two half-centuries in the season. He will look to add more races under his belt and keep the orange cap for as long as possible.

Virat Kohli provides update on his injury

Kohli also shared his update on the ankle issue as the star batsman still believes he is not fully fit. The former India captain also did not take the field due to the injury he sustained and was used as an impact player in the game.

Virat said: “(How did I feel tonight?) Much better than the last match. I’m still not 100%. My knee was a bit sore in the last match. Even health-wise, I’ve been bad for four-five days. So I’m getting back to my best. Today I started well, so I was happy with my intensity. Again, I would have liked to continue and finish the match.”

The pitch slowed down considerably – Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli also talked about the pitch being a bit dry and also that the conditions were hot and dry as the pitch did not have grass. The former India captain also praised RCB’s batting unit.

Virat said: “Sometimes you have to take the conditions into account as well. The pitch slowed down considerably and I probably just wanted to continue the same way. But yeah, in the end, I probably should have finished with that too. (On the pitch) Yes, it was slower than normal. If you look at it, there wasn’t enough grass. The last 3-4 days have been very, very hot.”

KP hasn’t even batted in any game yet: Virat Kohli

“It’s also been very dry. So we thought it was going to be a dry, slow wicket rather than one of those bare wickets that are tacky when we play at Chinnaswamy. So, it was different and that’s why the idea was to take the game away from the opposition and take it away from them in the first five or six overs.”

“I have to adapt my roles accordingly. It allows me to play a certain way up front with Salty. So we pass the baton pretty well on this team. And yeah, just the freedom of having Romario and Tim and… KP hasn’t even batted in any games yet. So we’re sitting on a batting unit that’s explosive, that gets the job done.”

RCB, after the win, has risen to the top of the table and will play against Delhi Capitals in their next home match, which will be their last home match of IPL 2026 as they will play their last two home matches in Raipur.

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