NEW DELHI: Despite scoring the record-extending 8th IPL century,
Virat Kohli
faced criticism due to the fact that he took 67 balls to reach the milestone, making it the joint slowest century in IPL history.
Kohli finished on an unbeaten 113 off 72 balls with the help of 12 fours and four sixes to take Bengaluru to 183/3.
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However,
Jos Buttler
hit an unbeaten 100 to trump Kohli's first century of the season as Rajasthan Royals beat RCB by six wickets on Saturday.
Buttler reached his ton, from 58 balls, with a six in his 100th IPL match when Rajasthan needed one for victory in their chase of 184, with five balls to spare in Jaipur.
Amidst the criticism surrounding his strike rate,
Yuzvendra Chahal
shared an emotional post in support of Kohli.
"You will always be my Virat bhaiya," Chahal posted on X with the picture of him and Kohli reflecting a deep bond between them.
Kohli had defended his knock and said he preferred adapting to match conditions without any predetermined strategy.
"The wicket looks quite different from the outside. It feels like it's flat, but the ball is holding up in the pitch, that's when you realise the pace changes," Kohli told official broadcasters.
Kohli also defended the strategy of not going after the bowlers from word go.
"One of us (Virat or Faf) had to bat till the end. I feel this total is effective on this pitch. I am not coming in with any premeditation. I knew I couldn't get over aggressive, just that I had to keep the bowlers guessing. They think I will come hard at them," Kohli said.
"It's just experience and maturity of playing the conditions. Even if there's dew, the surface is rough and dry, won't be easy for the batters," he observed.
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