NEW DELHI:
Virat Kohli
's masterful 92 off 47 balls, paired with
Rajat Patidar
's brisk half-century, propelled
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
to an imposing total of 241/7 against Punjab Kings in a rain-affected IPL match on Thursday.
Punjab Kings' fielding lapses played into RCB's hands as Kohli and Patidar seized the opportunity, combining for a quick 72 runs off 32 balls after being sent in to bat.
Kohli, dropped twice early in his innings, made Punjab pay with his precise timing, footwork, and wrist action, reaching his sixth IPL fifty of the season.
Patidar, who was also given two lifelines, delivered early impetus with a rapid 23-ball 55 that included six sixes and three fours.
Kohli and Cameron Green (46 off 27 balls) continued the assault, adding 92 runs off 46 balls, propelling RCB past the 200-run mark.
Green's knock featured five boundaries and one six before he was dismissed on the final delivery of the innings, as RCB scored 77 runs in the last five overs.
After his majestic knock at the picturesque stadium, the run machine said: "It was important to keep up my strike-rate through the innings so I wanted to take on the momentum. It was a tricky phase when Rajat got out, we got three down and the rain came in. So we needed a bit of time to settle but once Cameron and I did, I thought 'I have to go again.'
"The wicket was a bit two-paced, the ones pitching on the grassy ones were skidding on. Great opportunity for our bowlers to make the early inroads. (Good total batting first today) We weren't thinking about it. We thought 230+ would be a good total here. Bowlers are confident with recent successes. That was the only mindset," Virat said.
"I thought that was a hell of an over from Harshal, otherwise we'd be 250+. (Kaverappa, the new-ball bowler) Difficult to analyse in just one game. He has some swing but when new it is tough to figure them out early. Height is there, swing is also there. Kudos to him for starting well with the new ball, but by the fourth over the swing was gone," he said.
Cricket icon Sunil Gavaskar delivered a strong rebuke to Kohli for his reaction to analysts and commentators who questioned his scoring rate before India's T20 World Cup squad was announced.
Gavaskar, a Star Sports expert, also took issue with the broadcaster for repeatedly showing Kohli's clip of the outburst, replaying it 'half a dozen times'.
Kohli had pushed back against the ongoing discussion about his strike rate against spin during the middle overs, asserting that he understands his own game better than his critics do.
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