Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar showered praise on Virat Kohli after Royal Challengers Bengaluru registered a six-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders at Raipur on Wednesday in the ongoing IPL 2026.

Kohli scored a magnum opus knock of 105 runs off just 60 balls in the run chase of 193. The talismanic batter scored 11 fours and three sixes in his match-winning knock and was awarded Player of the Match.

Kohli looked in control throughout his knock and planned the run chase with guile. The veteran also became the fastest batter to reach the milestone of 14000 T20 runs in his career.

“It was expected when he hadn’t scored at all in two matches. The way he came to play, the body language was different. The pitch played quite well, and he hit the ball in good positions as well. He played with great control. The highlight for me was that the on-side play was quite dominant,” Sanjay Bangar said on JioHotstar.

Bangar noted that Kohli made use of his wrists and bottom hand in his fine knock against KKR.

“The wristwork we used to see from Virat Kohli in his earlier phase, we got to see that in this innings. He played more with a straight bat. However, the way he used his bottom hand, he used to play such shots a lot when he started his career, and he played those shots today (Wednesday) as well,” he added.

The former RCB head coach highlighted that Kohli has a great record while chasing in the last two seasons of the IPL.

“Whenever he feels he needs to bring out a shot from the basket, he does that and plays them brilliantly. He has an average of 85 in chases, and he has seven fifties and a hundred to his name while chasing since the start of IPL 2025. These are incredible numbers. This player is still right on top in terms of his skill level,” he observed.

RCB will next take on Punjab Kings at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, on Sunday.