IPL 2024: Results | Points Table
Punjab could have dismissed Kohli without scoring and then on 10, but missed both the opportunities and the RCB opener sparkled to produced 92 runs off just 47 balls, including 6 sixes and 7 fours.
Kohli’s knock powered RCB to a mammoth 241 for 7, as Rajat Patidar (55 off 23 balls) and Cameron Green (46 off 27 balls) kept the momentum in the middle overs and towards the end. The RCB bowlers, led by Mohammed Siraj’s 3 for 43, then bowled out Punjab for 181 to complete a 60-run triumph. Swapnil Singh, Lockie Ferguson and Karn Sharma took two wickets each.
After the win, ‘Player of the Match’ Kohli explained how he has re-introduced the slog-sweep in his game to counter spinners — something he did against Gujarat Titans’ spinners, before using it against Punjab’s Rahul Chahar and Liam Livingstone on Thursday.
“I brought out the slog-sweep against the spinners. I didn’t practice it, I know I can hit it as I have done in the past. I am always looking to expose that side of the field against spin. I know I need to take risks, it needs a bit of conviction. I have been managing to stay ahead of that thought and trying to keep up with the strike rate for me and the team,” said Kohli at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Orange Cap-holder Kohli now has 634 runs in 12 innings, becoming only the second batsman after KL Rahul to score 600-plus runs in four IPL seasons.
Kohli’s strike rate, which is 153.51 after 12 innings so far in this IPL season, had been questioned earlier. Hinting towards that, Kohli remarked that for him it’s “still quality over quantity’.
“Still quality over quantity, more so at this stage of my career. Understading your game over so many years allows you to practise but still stay switched on and still aiming to improve aspects of your game that you want to get better on,” he said.
The win, which is RCB’s fourth in a row, took their points tally to 10, which means their faint hopes of reaching the playoffs stay alive.
