Virat Kohli equaled Chris Gayle on six hundreds in IPL. Riding on Kohli’s knock, RCB defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in IPL 2023.
Hyderabad: Virat Kohli might have scored his sixth century in the Indian Premier League on Thursday but the World Test Championship final against Australia next month in London has already occupied his mind.
Riding on Kohli’s magnificent century at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Royal Challengers Bangalore eased to an emphatic eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a crucial IPL 2023 encounter and rise one spot up to fourth in points table.
Not an ardent fan of fancy shots – like in T20s these days – Kohli played some of the best shots from the book and expressed staying true to his technique is important since Test cricket is coming up. “I’ve never been a guy who plays so many fancy shots – was having a chat with Aiden as well. We have to play 12 months of the year.
“For me it’s not playing fancy shots and throwing my wicket away. We’ve got Test cricket (coming up) after the IPL, have to stay true to my technique,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony after receiving the Player of the Match award.
Chasing 187 for the win, Kohli and Faf du Plessis forged a 172-run stand for the first wicket. The duo has so far scored 900 runs together. Asked what’s the secret of such a bond, Kohli said, “I think it’s the tattoos (laughs).” “We almost have 900 runs together this season. Very similar to how I used to feel with AB and me batting together.
What is the secret of the highly successful Virat-Faf pair?🤔
We will let King Kohli spill the beans 😉#TATAIPL , #SRHvRCB , @RCBTweets , @imVkohli , @faf1307 pic.twitter.com/BEKGcALbZK
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2023
“It’s been a beautiful transition for us coming together for RCB at the top and making an impact,” he added. Following the victory, RCB climbed to the fourth spot due to their better net run rate although they are tied with Mumbai Indians on 14 points.
They will, however, have to win their next match to stay in the mix as Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants are at 15 points with one match to go.