Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has showered praise on Virat Kohli after Royal Challengers Bengaluru claimed their second IPL title, beating Gujarat Titans by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Chasing 156 for the win, Kohli scored a fine knock of 75 runs off just 42 balls. The talisman struck nine fours and three sixes in his blistering knock as he batted at the top of his game. The veteran once again made the most of his experience in the run-chase and got the job done for his team.
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “This season, he has been like the powerful waves of a stormy ocean. When he reached his half-century, he was batting at a strike rate of over 200, and by the time he finished his innings, his strike rate was around 175. So, he is just like water, a player who can take any shape at any time. That is what makes him a great player.”
Pathan highlighted that GT bowlers bowled poor lines in the summit clash and Kohli made the most of it.
“And yes, the bowling was poor. Most of the deliveries were on the leg side, giving him opportunities to play his shots. There wasn’t enough bowling outside the off stump. Perhaps Gujarat’s total was not big enough, so their plan was to attack the stumps more. But where can you really hide against him? When it comes to run chases, nobody does it better than Virat Kohli. There is simply no one better at chasing targets than him.”
The former all-rounder highlighted that Kohli didn’t want to give any opportunity to GT in the Powerplay overs and thus he and Venkatesh Iyer started aggressively in the run chase of 156. RCB smashed 70 runs in the first six overs to put the game to bed.
Pathan concluded, “And the masterclass in this Virat innings was that he had it in his mind that he needed to play aggressively. He knew that if he gave Gujarat even the slightest opportunity during the powerplay, they could make a comeback. If you look at their batting lineup, they really have only three specialist batters. Beyond that, there aren’t many batters who stand out. Their bowling is what truly makes them a strong side. That is why it was important to push the opposition far behind in the powerplay by batting aggressively and increasing the pressure on them. Virat Kohli has properly demonstrated this approach throughout the season.”
Kohli scored a total of 675 runs in 16 matches of IPL 2026 at an average of 56.25 and a strike rate of 165.84.
