With speculation surrounding his lack of form and horrific results on the pitch never seeming to come to an end, Virat Kohli finally found some respite as he smacked a wonderful half-century that powered Royal Challengers Bangalore’s successful run-chase against Gujarat Titans.
For someone who has suffered from poor luck and shoddy dismissals throughout the campaign, it was Kohli’s turn to ride the train of luck as edges from the bat no longer fell in the hands of fielders, but raced away to the boundary. Kohli didn’t seem to mind it one bit and it only got him more pumped and excited to push on.
Of course, there was the flick of the wrist off Rashid Khan that went for a six as well as powerful straight drives that delighted and wowed the crowd. Against Gujarat Titans, Virat Kohli showed his temperament and grace after a particularly lean and disappointing phase in his career. Prior to the match, he had scored just 236 runs from 13 innings at a measly average of 19. He had even recorded three golden ducks in a single season for the first time in his career.
When asked about Kohli and whether fortune finally favoured him, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson admitted that he did ride on a bit of luck, but it had been piling for him throughout the season. Kohli had been unlucky on several discussions and was finding various ways to get out.
“It started in Pune, and then from that point on, he got run-out a couple of times, obviously the one that went off the hip – he pretty much found each and every way to get out. So he’s right, there certainly wasn’t a pattern to those dismissals.
“But no doubt, when you go through a bit of a patch like that – he’s only human, you know – then you do start to just having the off doubt and wonder when’s your luck is going to turn. So look, little bit luck tonight, but he’s certainly earned it throughout this IPL,” said Mike Hesson at the post-match press conference.
RCB went on to win by eight wickets after Virat Kohli put them on course for victory. Whether they will make it to the playoffs or not is an equation that still hangs in the balance. If Delhi Capitals lose to Mumbai Indians, RCB will be safely through. If not, then the Net Run Rate equation will come into play where RCB (-0.253) trail DC (+0.255) by a big margin.
