HYDERABAD: Royal Challengers Bangalore star batter and “Chasemaster” Virat Kohli ended a four-year-long wait for an Indian Premier League ton, smashing Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowlers all around the ground to score his sixth century of the tournament on Thursday.
This was Kohli’s first ton in the ongoing IPL 2023; he equalled former teammate Chris Gayle (6) for most centuries scores in league history. The star batter slammed his first IPL ton since April 2019.
Notably, Kohli now has the joint-most centuries in the history of the league with Chris Gayle (6).
The RCB opener had been in good form but criticised for his slow starts; but, on Thursday night, he proved his doubters wrong, reaching his century in 62 deliveries. Although Kohli has been in superb form in the IPL 2023, his strike rate in the middle overs has come under scrutiny.
Kohli enjoyed his rich form in the match during the middle overs in addition to dominating the powerplay. He hit his century off 62 balls in the 18th over.
Kohli was eventually dismissed on 100, leaving the pitch directly after reaching the milestone; Bhuvneshwar Kumar took the RCB star’s wicket in the 18th over.
Coming to the match, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) secured a dominating victory and two crucial points after a remarkable chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Virat Kohli’s chase masterclass and his scintillating century overshadowed Heinrich Klaasen’s ton in a gripping run-fest.
Chasing 187 to win, RCB got off to a flying start courtesy of in-form openers – Virat Kohli and Captain Faf du Plessis. Opener Virat Kohli hit from the word go and was off the mark with two timely strokes before Faf du Plessis jumped on the bandwagon.
The fifty partnership was up yet again in the tournament for RCB’s opening duo and the visitors moved to 64/0 after 6 overs. SRH nearly put an end to the opening partnership after Mayank Dagar took a sensational catch however on a delivery that unfortunately turned out to be a no-ball, adding to SRH’s worries.
The duo looked unstoppable with the bat as both du Plessis and Kohli reached their respective half-centuries and RCB were cruising at 108/0 with 8 overs to go.
Virat Kohli was at his sublime best and left everyone in awe as the 150-run partnership was up for the opening wicket.
The equation was down to 23 off 18 for the visitors as SRH kept searching for the opening wicket. Virat Kohli smashed a maximum off
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling to reach his first century of the season in style.
SRH bounced back to dismiss both the RCB openers in quick succession but it was too late for the home side as RCB chased down the target with four balls to spare. (ANI)