Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli was fired up both in intensity and in terms of strokeplay as he played a crucial part in his side's 9-wicket win against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Sunday, April 28. Kohli, who was at the receiving end of criticism for his strike rate and game against spin after a 42-ball 51 in the last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) was almost striking at 180 against GT's spin trio of Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and R Sai Kishore.
Kohli brought up his half-century off just 32 deliveries and remained unbeaten on 70 off just 44 deliveries before Will Jacks took the game away from under his feet with a 41-ball century, smashing 56 runs off the last 12 balls he faced.
Kohli was explosive with the bat and with his words too as he hit out at his critics saying that the player in the middle is the only one who knows how to negotiate a situation and how to go about his business against the spinners when asked if he keeps count of the records and milestones he achieves.
"All the people who talk about strike rates and me not playing spin well are the ones who love talking about this stuff. But for me, it's about winning the game for the team and there's a reason why you do it for 15 years because you have done this day and day out and you have won games for your teams.
"I am not quite sure, if you have not been in that situation yourself, to sit and speak about the game from a box. I don't really think it's the same thing. So, for me it's just about doing my job. People can talk about their ideas and assumptions about the game but those who have done it day-in day-out, know what's happening and it's kind of a muscle memory for me now," Kohli said in a brutal assessment of the whole situation.
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Kohli became the first batter to complete 500 runs in the 2024 edition and now has 10 seasons of 400-plus runs. The win helped RCB get to six points while the Gujarat Titans suffered their sixth loss of the tournament.
