Legendary Sunil Gavaskar said Royal Challengers Bengaluru doesn’t expect a strike rate of 118 from Virat Kohli. The talisman scored 51 runs off 43 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Thursday.
Kohli got off to a quick start, scoring 32 runs off 18 balls in the Powerplay overs. However, he could not find the fence after the field restrictions were lifted. Kohli trudged to 19 runs off 25 balls after the first six overs and failed to score his runs at a rapid pace against the spinners.
In the end, Kohli was dismissed after completing his personal milestone and could not change the gears. On the other hand, Rajat Patidar scored a 19-ball 50 as he played at the top of his game.
“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 outâ€æ 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,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports.
On the other hand, former Australian batter Simon Katich feels Kohli’s mundane strike rate costed his team at least 20 runs.
“Yeah, there is no doubt he lost impetus. I think Rajat Patidar played beautifully, and he was the one who was trying to hit the fours and sixes. Virat Kohli probably needed to do that. I think that the sub 120 strike rate probably cost RCB 220-plus against SunRisers. Against SRH, 206 on the board, might not be enough,” Katich said.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next take on Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday.
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