Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) mainstay Virat Kohli found himself under fire once more for his slow knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Thursday. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar wasn’t impressed by Kohli’s innings and was quick to call it out on air.
While Kohli reached his 53rd IPL fifty, the slow knock of 51 runs in 43 balls drew criticism for its low strike rate, especially considering the batting-friendly pitch. RCB opted to bat first after winning the toss, and Kohli started aggressively, reaching 32 off just 18 deliveries in the powerplay.
However, the dismissal of Faf du Plessis seemed to stall his momentum. The arrival of SRH spinners tightened the screws further, restricting Kohli to a mere 19 runs from his next 25 balls.
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Sunil Gavaskar called out Virat Kohli for his 43-ball 51 vs SRH
“In the middle, he just seemed to lose touch,” Gavaskar commented while on the mic. “From around 32 runs, I don’t recall him hitting a single boundary until his dismissal. When you bat through the powerplay and get out in the mid-innings with a strike rate of 118, it’s not what your team (RCB) expects from you.”
Gavaskar, who is one of an all-time batting legends, pointed out that RCB didn’t expect Kohli to get out at an ordinary strike rate of below 120, especially after getting a start like he got against SRH.
Despite Kohli’s struggle, RCB managed to put up a decent total of 206 on the board, thanks in part to a blazing 19-ball fifty from Rajat Patidar. Eventually, the visitors won the game by 35 runs, thus registering only their second IPL win of the season.
