Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli equalled an enormous report of his former teammate and ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle when he notched up his sixth century within the Indian Premier League in a must-win IPL 2023 match towards Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on Thursday night time. Kohli hammered a 63-ball 100 to assist RCB chase down 187-run goal after SRH’s Heinrich Klaasen had additionally scored a maiden IPL hundred.
Kohli’s century helped RCB bounce over Mumbai Indians into the 4th place on the IPL 2023 Points Table with their second successive win and so they now have 14 factors from 13 matches. It was Kohli’s seventh century in all T20 cricket, serving to him surpass KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma’s report of six centuries.
A magnificent CENTURY by Virat Kohli __
Take a bow, King Kohli!
His SIXTH century within the IPL.#TATAIPL #SRHvRCB pic.twitter.com/gd39A6tp5d
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2023
Kohli deservedly received the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning century and referred to as it a ‘special’ one contemplating the magnitude of the sport. “It is quite special considering the magnitude of the game. We saw the ball was gripping in the middle. We wanted a solid start but did not expect to be 172 for no loss. That’s how well Faf and I have played, he’s been on a different level. I had a quiet couple of games and wasn’t hitting as well in the game as I was in the nets. My intent from ball 1 was to go after the bowlers,” Kohli stated on the post-match presentation.
The former RCB captain revealed that he prefers to not play any ‘fancy’ pictures in his innings not like batters like Suryakumar Yadav, who’ve come to be often called ‘Mr 360’. “Happy that it all came together nicely. I never look at my numbers. I don’t give myself enough credit sometimes for playing impact knocks. I take pride to play the situation. I don’t play fancy shots. We have to play 12 months of the year, so you can’t play fancy shots and throw your wicket away. I try to stay true to my technique and take pride which helps my team,” Kohli stated.
On his 172-run opening partnership with RCB captain Faf du Plessis, Kohli stated, “I think it’s the tattoos. Very similar to how AB and me batting together. There’s a good sense of where we are and how to take the game forward. It’s been a beautiful transition. Blessed and grateful for the support. I told Faf that it was like a home game, cheering for RCB and taking my name as well. I feel you can’t create this. I’m myself on the field and think it resonates with the people. Great to see people happy when I perform.”
