The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) registered their first victory in a month since defeating Punjab Kings on March 25 in Bengaluru. On Thursday, the Faf du Plessis-led side defeated the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 35 runs to stay afloat in the playoff race. However, the debate over Virat Kohli’s strike-rate has intensified again despite scoring a half-century in the winning cause.
The former skipper notched up his third half-century this season and featured in a valuable 65-run partnership with Rajat Patidar, who made a notable contribution of 50 runs off just 20 balls. But Kohli’s strike-rate, 118.60, became a major talking point, especially after the Powerplay when he dropped his pace.
Kohli raced to 32 off his first 18 balls, slowing down dramatically to get 19 off his next 25 balls. This dip in strike-rate left Sunil Gavaskar fuming and he expressed his dissent on air.
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“It’s just been singles, singles and singles from Kohli. There is [Dinesh] Karthik to come; there is [Mahipal] Lomror to come. You’ve got to try and take a few risks now. Look at Patidar. He had already hit three sixes in that over. If he had wanted, he could have taken a single or left the ball for a wide. But no, he went for it because the opportunity was there,” Gavaskar said while doing commentary on air.
“That’s the approach RCB now need. Yes, Kohli has played and missed; it’s not easy, because when you’ve been in your shell, you’ve just been working the ones, and suddenly connecting is not going to be easy. But that is what Kohli needs to do; needs to attempt. He has got to attempt the big shots no,” he added.
This was Kohli’s fourth consecutive IPL half-centuries in Hyderabad which he reached off 37 balls and didn’t hit a boundary for 9 overs. He was ultimately dismissed by Jaydev Unadkat, who playing his 100th IPL game. After Patidar’s blazing knock, Cameron Green’s 37 off 20 pushed RCB to 206/7, a total that sufficed to trump Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Gavaskar felt that Kohli lost his touch after a certain point, resulting in a drop in his strike-rate.
“In the middle, he just seemed to have lost touch. I am not sure of the exact numbers, but I think from 31-32 to the time he got out, he did not hit a boundary. So at the end of the day, when he got out when you are facing the strike in the first ball of the innings and you get out in the 14th or the 15th over, you have got strike rate of 118, that’s not what your team expects from you,” Gavaskar added.
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