In a first, the Indian Premier League (IPL) witnessed two batters — Virat Kohli and Heinrich Klassen — scoring a century for each franchise in the match between SunRisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday. Both the knocks were crucial, but it was Kohli who had the last laugh as RCB clinched victory by eight-wicket and stayed alive in the hunt for an IPL 2023 playoffs spot.
The chase master dictated the RCB innings by staying true to his technique and timed the balls to perfection. It was a delightful side as Kohli brought up his first century with a six in 62 deliveries but fell prey to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the very next delivery. In the process, Kohli joined the likes of T20 legend Chris Gayle for most centuries (6) in the IPL and ensured that RCB chased down the target to maintain their Net Run Rate in the stiff task of qualifying for the playoffs.
His well-timed magnificence was such that his in-form opening partner and captain, Faf du Plessis, who scored 71 runs, took a backseat and witnessed Kohli in control. Incidentally, the duo became the only second pair after Kohli and AB de Villiers to register over 800 runs in one IPL season. The former RCB captain smashed 12 boundaries and four sixes in his terrific knock.
However, even after stepping aside from his captaincy role and taking a pay cut of INR 2,00,00,000 in his retention fee from the 2022 season, Kohli continues to prove himself as the most important member of the franchise. He has a current retention fee of INR 15,00,00,000 for RCB and earns INR 1,07,14,285 per match. The value of his four sixes hit in the match is INR 4,28,57,142.
Earlier, it was SRH captain Klassen who took matters into his own hands and played a pivotal role to guide his side to a challenging total of 186/5. The South African registered his best IPL score of 104 runs off 51 deliveries, laced with eight boundaries and six hits over the fence. His innings was of utmost importance as SRH lost their openers inside the powerplay. However, it was his resilience that rescued them from 28/2 to 178/4.
The former RCB player and new SRH captain has a per-season fee of INR 5,25,00,000. His per-match fee is INR 37,50,000. The overall value of his six sixes in the match is INR 22,50,00,000. Notably, the difference between the value of Kohli and Klassen’s per six is INR 69,64,285.
