WATCH: Virat Kohli hits a wristy maximum to reach his fifty against Gujarat Titans
Finally, the wait is over. Indian cricket fans were waiting for this moment for ages. On Thursday night, Virat Kohli looked like his old self as the King did what he does best. Kohli played a perfectly paced knock while chasing the total against Gujarat Titans to keep Royal Challengers Bangalore alive in the tournament.
Royal Challengers Bangalore battled Gujarat Titans in the 67th game of the current edition of the IPL at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. It is a must-win game for the Reds to qualify for the playoffs, while it was a dead rubber for Gujarat Titans.
Gujarat Titans‘ skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bat first to challenge themselves ahead of Qualifier 1. The Titans posted a par total of 168/5 in 20 overs after batting first. While the skipper ‘Kung-Fu Pandya’ remained unbeaten for 62 runs off 47 deliveries, David Miller and Wriddhiman Saha scored vital thirties for the team. However, it was Rashid Khan who provided the finishing impetus with unbeaten 19 runs off 6 deliveries to give momentum to the table-toppers.
Chasing the total, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli provided Royal Challengers Bangalore with a solid platform. Kohli, especially, looked aggressive from the beginning and attacked the bowlers. The senior duo added 38 runs in the powerplay without losing any wickets.
Virat Kohli smashes Rashid Khan for a maximum to complete his fifty
The Run Machine paced his knock perfectly in an important run chase. On the first delivery of the 10th over, he played a wristy flick off Rashid Khan’s bowling to send him over the mid-wicket boundary.
With this wristy maximum, Virat Kohli also completed his 2nd half-century of the season off just 33 deliveries. The King roared back to the form in style by scoring 73 runs off 54 deliveries before getting out.
Watch the video here:
Notably, it was Virat Kohli’s 2nd fifty of the season and both have come up against Gujarat Titans. In the end, Royal Challengers Bangalore completed the chase easily with 8 wickets in hand.
