Virat Kohli put on a show with the bat in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) must-win game against Gujarat Titans (GT) at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday (May 21).
In order to qualify for the playoffs, RCB need to win this match and Kohli delivered in style for his team. Opening the innings, he added 67 runs for the first wicket with skipper Faf du Plessis, who was dismissed in the 8th over for 19-ball 28.
While the likes of Glenn Maxwell (11), Mahipal Lomror (1), and Dinesh Karthik (0) got out cheaply, Virat held the one end firmly and completed his half-century off 35 balls.
After the landmark, Kohli put a pedal on the accelerator and started dealing in boundaries more frequently. He notched up the three-figure mark in the last over off 60 balls.
It was Kohli’s second century on the trot in the ongoing IPL season as his seventh overall in the cash-rich tournament. In the end, he finished with 101 not out off 61 balls (13 fours and 1 six), propelling RCB to a massive 197/5 in 20 overs.
Speaking after the game, Virat Kohli said he feels like playing his best cricket in the shortest format all over again.
“We would have taken that with both hands once we were five wickets down through the middle overs with Anuj as the last recognised batsman left. We pretty much pulled things back nicely towards the end. We targeted 190 when we lost five, but getting close to 200 is a very competitive score and a winnable score for me. Teams have not been able to chase here in the recent past. It's upon the bowlers now to execute the plans and have a crack at them,” Kohli told the host broadcasters after RCB’s innings came to an end.
“I felt great. Lot of people think that my T20 cricket is declining, I don't feel like that at all. I think I am playing my best T20 cricket again. I'm just enjoying myself. This is how I play T20 cricket, I look to hit gaps, hit a lot of boundaries and then the big ones towards the end if the situation allows me to. You have to read situations and rise up to the occasion when the situation demands. I feel really good with my game at the moment and how I'm batting,” he added.
Kohli was confident that his team will be able to defend the huge total against the power-packed GT batting line-up.
“Spin wasn't easy to get away. There's enough in this pitch for our bowlers to make a dent through the innings. What matters is to stay in the present in these kind of situations. I wasn't focusing on the rain, I was just focused on what I need to do for the team. Now we've got ourselves in a great position to defend this,” he remarked.
