Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has opined that RCB former skipper Virat Kohli was looking in good touch while batting at number three against Punjab Kings in the team’s opening match of the season.
Kohli scored an unbeaten knock of 41 runs off 29 balls against the Mayank Agarwal-led team.
It was a typical Kohli knock as he rotated the strike at regular intervals and took a few chances. Kohli played second fiddle to Faf du Plessis as the pair added 118 runs for the second wicket. Subsequently, Dinesh Karthik added the finishing touches for RCB as he raced to 32 off just 14 balls.
Kohli hasn’t got the big runs in the recent past but he looked in good touch in the opening game, which is a positive for RCB.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Kohli at 3 is looking beautiful. It was more like the vintage Kohli. Loved the way he was batting. He wasn’t the hero but it was a really impressive batting performance from him.”
The batting unit was positive for RCB in their season’s opener as they posted 205 runs on the board.
“If we look closely at Bangalore’s team combination, the last match was good for them. Anuj Rawat impressed at the top. Faf du Plessis started slowly but picked up speed as his innings progressed. Dinesh Karthik played a cameo but it was a destructive knock and a highly effective innings. It was a memorable performance for sure.”
On the other hand, the renowned commentator reckons KKR must explore their sixth bowling option against RCB. KKR has Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, and Shreyas Iyer who can contribute with the ball.
“KKR must explore their sixth bowling option against RCB in (Nitish) Rana, Shreyas (Iyer) and Venkatesh (Iyer). They might have to make up for being slightly light in the pace bowling department.”
The former KKR player believes Shreyas Iyer-led team can trouble RCB if Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy get early wickets of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli.
“I feel Narine and Varun will stifle their opponents. It is a big ground (DY Patil Stadium). If KKR gets Faf and Kohli early, they can throttle RCB because Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) is not there yet. I think something like this could happen.”
KKR and RCB will face off each other on Wednesday.
