Virat Kohli, the former Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper, showcased his batting prowess once again with a sublime knock against Punjab Kings in matchday 58 of the Indian Premier League 2024. Kohli notched up his sixth half-century of the season, becoming the first batter to complete 600 runs in the tournament. His explosive innings of 92 off 47 balls propelled RCB to a challenging total of 241 against PBKS.
Leading the batting charge of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, opener Kohli extended his free-scoring run as the former India skipper notched up his sixth half-century of the season. Kohli smashed his half-century off 32 balls after Punjab Kings stand-in skipper Sam Curran invited RCB to bat at Dharamsala. The former RCB skipper was the cynosure of all eyes as chants of ‘Kohli, Kohli, Kohli’ reverberated around the packed venue in his impressive innings.
Accelerating the RCB innings after his gritty half-century, Kohli scored 68 off 36 at a strike rate of 176.31 inside the 15 overs. The 35-year-old improved his strike rate to almost 200 when the RCB icon entered the nervous 90s. Though Kohli was eyeing his record-extending century in the rain-curtailed encounter between Punjab and Bengaluru, the batting maestro was stopped in his tracks by speedster Arshdeep Singh in the 17th over. Kohli was dismissed for 92 off 47 balls. The Orange Cap holder batted at a strike rate of 195.74 against Punjab.
The talismanic batter of the Royal Challengers smoked six sixes and seven fours in his entertaining knock. The leading run-getter in PBKS vs RCB clashes, Kohli completed 1,000 runs against the Punjab Kings in the world’s richest T20 tournament. Kohli had scored 938 runs in 31 games before PBKS hosted RCB in Dharamsala.
Kohli’s impressive performance also saw him join Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul in an elite club. Only Kohli and Rahul have completed 600-plus runs on four occasions in the IPL. While RCB skipper Du Plessis achieved the feat twice, the same milestone was secured by Chris Gayle and David Warner on three occasions.
