Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans had high hopes from their most loved hero, Virat Kohli, expecting him to create some magic against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 3. But to the fans’ disappointment, Kohli played a slow innings compared to his own standards and those typical of T20 cricket.
Kohli didn’t get much strike in the first three overs, and on the first ball of the fourth over, he hit his first boundary by flicking a half-volley from Kyle Jamieson to the long leg boundary. However, he then went into a shell, and his next boundary didn’t come until the tenth over, when he managed a cheeky four.
The pitch was fantastic for batting, and RCB were 87/2 at the halfway mark, with Kohli and Rajat Patidar at the crease. They needed to up the ante to set a challenging target for PBKS. However, even after that, Kohli seemed content with taking singles and twos.
Virat Kohli failed to accelerate throughout his innings
It was only after the strategic break that RCB took ahead of the 13th over, they decided to go all out. On the first ball of the 14th over, Liam Livingstone smashed a six off Yuzvendra Chahal, making their intent clear. Kohli also began to attack, playing a fine slog sweep over mid-wicket for a boundary.
But to the dismay of RCB fans, in the very next over, Kohli was dismissed while attempting to pull a short-pitched delivery from Azmatullah Omarzai, only to be caught by the bowler himself. Kohli scored 43 off 35 balls at a strike rate of 122.86, including only three boundaries.
Although he ended up as their highest scorer, RCB still managed to score just 190/9 in 20 overs. It seemed a bit of a double-paced pitch as PBKS bowlers used slower deliveries effectively, but still, Kohli could have done a little better with his attacking intent, as that would have helped both him and the team to add some more runs.
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