In a timely reminder for his detractors, batting icon Virat Kohli played another crucial knock to help Royal Challengers Bangalore secure a crucial win over Punjab Kings at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium. The former RCB skipper’s quick-fire 92 kept RCB in the playoff hunt on matchday 58 of the Indian Premier League season 2024.
Kohli’s performance came under scrutiny after legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar called out his tirade against IPL commentators and cricket pundits. However, the RCB icon celebrated on social media for letting his bat do the talking in Dharamsala.
During the live telecast of IPL 2024, Gavaskar questioned the official broadcaster for playing Kohli’s hard-hitting remark against the experts ‘half a dozen times’. He reprimanded Kohli for ‘replying to any outside’ after his IPL strike rate became a major talking point in the lead-up to India’s squad announcement for the T20 World Cup.
Days after Gavaskar’s criticism, Kohli played a blazing knock to help RCB avoid elimination from the playoff race. As Kohli dominated the PBKS bowlers, fans and followers of the game took to social media to express their support and target Gavaskar. On X, formerly known as Twitter, RCB faithful mentioned Gavaskar in over 3,000 posts during the match between the two IPL teams.
Kohli’s 92-run knock off 47 balls powered RCB to a gigantic total of 241-7 in 20 overs. The 35-year-old also completed 1,000 runs against Punjab and became the first batter to score 600 runs in IPL 2024. He currently leads the Orange Cap race with 600 runs, ahead of Ruturaj Gaikwad (535) and Travis Head (527). Only Kohli and KL Rahul have achieved the feat of scoring 600 runs in the IPL four times.
Reflecting on his innings, Kohli said, ‘Was important for me to keep up the strike rate right through. I was just focused on taking the momentum forward. There was a tricky phase when Rajat got out, and there was a break for rain and hail. We had a bit of a stop in momentum. Had to rebuild for 8-10 balls. Once the base was set and Cam got a few boundaries away, I thought I had to go again.’
