Virat Kohli took a run, looked up to the sky and held his bat in the air. The moment had finally come. It was Virat Kohli's fifty.
The wait of fans rooting for Virat's performance was finally over as their favourite run-machine answered his critics with a sweet half-century off 45 balls in the ongoing match against Gujarat Titans at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.
Batting first, Faf lost his wicket without scoring any run. However, Virat and Rajat Patidar stitched a partnership as both of them slammed half-centuries.
This is Virat's first 50+ score in 15 innings. He has only one longer gap of making 50 runs which was 18 innings during 2009 and 2010 editions.
Kohli lost his wicket to Mohammed Shami after scoring 58 off 53.
Virat's decline as a batsman had taken the cricket world by storm. He hasn't scored a century in any format for three years now and the wait for that 71st hundred has gained mythical proportions. All of this further gained steam when he was out on duck on two consecutive games.
In this edition of IPL, he started well with 41 runs, and in the next two matches, he contributed 12 and 5 runs. In his fourth match, Virat reached 48. He looked in good touch. But it got worse from there. He scored a single run in the next match and 12 in the following game. And then came the nightmare, two-back to back ducks on the first ball. In the next match too, he managed to add just 9 runs to the aggregate.
Earlier former head coach Ravi Shastri had asked Virat to take a break, "I am going straight to the main guy here. Virat Kohli is overcooked. If anyone needs a break, it's him," he said."Whether it's 2 months or a month-and-a-half, whether it's after England or before England. He needs a break because he has got 6-7 years of cricket left in him and you don't want to lose that with a fried brain," he added
RCB head coach, on the other hand, had defended Virat. "He is somebody who has consistently performed for RCB. Players go through rough patches. He is certainly doing everything that is in his control. He is doing his fitness and skills and taking good breaks and not letting the pressure get to him. He has been taking breaks at regular intervals and will continue to do so going forward," he said.
RCB is currently placed fifth on the points table.
The former RCB captain is arguably one of the greatest batsmen of all time and once he gets going he will be unstoppable. With the IPL getting towards the business end, the race to book a playoff berth has already begun with RCB placed in a precarious position.
