Kohli played a key role with the bat in RCB's win over RR on Thursday.
Virat Kohli continued his good form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) as he played another brilliant knock in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) 11-run victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday (April 24).
Opening the innings, Kohli slammed 70 off 42 balls with 8 boundaries and 2 sixes, helping RCB rack up a mammoth 205/5 on the board. He was involved in a 95-run stand for the second wicket with Devdutt Padikkal, who returned with 50 off 27 balls.
In reply, RR could manage 194/9 in their allotted 20 overs as Josh Hazlewood’s stunning bowling figures (4-33 in 4 overs) paved the way for RCB’s sixth win in the tournament.
In the post-match interview, Virat Kohli emphasized that “proper planning” ended the side’s losing streak of three matches.
“Pretty happy, we discussed a few things as a batting unit and applied ourselves well enough to get a total on the board. The dew really helped in the second half, credit to RR they came out and played good shots, but to claw our way back and get those 2 points was really crucial,” Kohli said.
“The first challenge here (at this venue) is to win toss and second half it becomes a bit of an advantage, we have been fighting hard to get a good score in the first few games, but the template today was for one guy to bat through and the rest of the batters can go attacking and today it really paid off,” he added.
“There is pace and bounce in the first 3-4 overs and I think we tried to force too many shots in the last 3 games and today we let the ball come and adjusted ourselves and we were able to capitalise on those. We figured out a way to bat now and in the next few home games, we should be in a better position to get those extra 15-20 runs,” he further remarked.
Kohli insisted that the Chinnaswamy Stadium is the best place to play cricket as he highlighted the support they got at home venue.
“It (this venue) is the best place to play cricket in the IPL, and the fans backed us during good and bad times. It is a special place and have lot of special memories,” he concluded.
With this win, RCB climbed to third spot on the IPL 2025 points table. They will next face Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday (April 27).