NEW DELHI: Despite being an unstoppable run-machine in the IPL,
Virat Kohli
has yet to conquer the
MA Chidambaram Stadium
in Chennai while representing the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Kohli holds a significant lead over other players in the IPL, amassing 7263 runs from 237 matches with an impressive seven centuries and a striking rate of 130. However, this dominance takes a dip at the
Chepauk
, where his average is just 30, and his strike rate is 111.
In light of these statistics, former India off-spinner
Harbhajan Singh
emphasised the importance of Kohli producing a stronger performance when the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) face the defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural match of this year's IPL at the Chepauk on March 22.
"The greatness of Virat has been reduced in terms of his overall performance at that venue. It is a tricky venue to bat, especially as an opening batsman against a sort of weird tennis ball type bounce.
"They've (CSK) got the great (Ravindra) Jadeja bowling stump to stump. He'll get the oddball to turn and then the oddball to stay low. It's really tricky,” Harbhajan told Star Sports.
In fact, Kohli has been dismissed in the Powerplays three times in his last five innings against CSK, and Harbhajan pointed out that the star batter will need to find a way to extend his time at the crease.
"If he's actually prepared to bat about 20 overs, then he can put together a match-winning performance because two hundreds at the accessible Chinnaswamy do not necessarily guarantee the same at Chepauk," he said.
Kohli has yet to score an IPL century at Chepauk, and his performance against the CSK reflects a middling record. The 35-year-old has scored 985 runs against CSK from 30 matches, with a highest score of 90.
Harbhajan, a former CSK player himself, expressed the view that Kohli needs to rediscover his 2016 form for the RCB to mount a serious challenge for the elusive IPL title.
"It's important for him to have a season like 2016, because if Virat goes on to score runs, the team will go forward. I don't know if they will go on to win the cup or not.
"But with the brilliant individuals they have in their team — Virat, (Glenn) Maxwell, (Cameron) Green, and a few more like Patidar — I believe they have a lot of good batting. and everyone wants Virat to have a repeat of 2016,” he added.
In 2016, Kohli had an exceptional IPL season, amassing 973 runs from 16 matches, featuring four centuries and seven fifties. This remarkable performance still stands as the highest run-aggregate in a single IPL season.
(With PTI inputs)
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