On his return to action, Virat Kohli managed a knock of 21 runs in 20 balls in the IPL 2024 opening game against CSK at Chepauk. RCB, led by Faf du Plessis, suffered a loss by 6 wickets as CSK chased down the target of 174 runs.
RCB’s total of 173 runs felt under-par – as it was also said by Dinesh Karthik during the mid-innings break – and it proved to be so as CSK won with 8 balls to spare.
The scrutiny once again went on Virat Kohli for his slow knock of 21 (20). Kohli, who was returning after a long break, set himself in for a big knock, however, the RCB opener couldn’t kick in after his slow start and holed out at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Mustafizur Rahman, who picked four wickets in the game and earned the Player of the Match award.
In his knock of 20 balls, Kohli managed was able to hit only six and no boundary, despite batting the entire powerplay. CSK applied the chokehold and he was unable to bat for long.
CSK, on the other hand, were aggressive right from the start of their innings and scored 62 runs in the powerplay, even after losing the opener and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. Then, even with the regular fall of wickets, CSK displayed an aggressive brand of cricket and crossed the finish line with comfort.
Did Harsha Bhogle take a dig at Virat Kohli through his tweet?
Harsha Bhogle, someone who has often spoken about lack of intent and lack of aggressive approach in the batting of players like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul in T20 cricket, posted a tweet talking about CSK’s batting approach. Some felt his tweet was an indirect dig at Kohli, too.
Bhogle tweeted: “The #CSK batting approach was exactly how T20 cricket is played. Everyone buys into the style, everyone chips in and the result is a collective contribution. With the impact sub, you can play a strike rate centred game all through.”
https://x.com/bhogleharsha/status/1771257044500127823?s=20
RCB captain Faf du Plessis said in the post-match presentation that his side “we were about 15-20 runs short”.
Also Read: Watch: Jos Buttler Imitates MS Dhoni’s Helicopter Shots In The Nets
