Virat Kohli, star batter for Bangalore, finally got his hands on an Indian Premier League century on Thursday after four years, as he smashed the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers all over the park for his sixth tonne of the competition. Kohli scored his sixth hundred of IPL, tying him with ex-teammate Chris Gayle for the most in the league. The RCB opener had been in good form, but he had been criticized for his sluggish starts. However, on Thursday, he silenced his critics by scoring a century in just 62 balls.
After hitting 100, Kohli got out immediately, and his wicket was taken by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 18th over. Kohli’s last century in the league came in a match against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2019 season.
The 34-year-old batsman got off to a brisk start, scoring his first 16 runs off fours (two off the opening two deliveries of the RCB innings against Bhuvneshwar and one each off-spinner Abhishek Sharma and left-arm bowler T Natarajan). Kohli took advantage of the early powerplay overs, smashing 32 runs off just 20 balls.
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar reacts after Virat Kohli smashes his sixth IPL century
The batsman reached fifty quickly (in just 36 balls). He and the skipper, Faf du Plessis, who has been in fantastic form this season, put up a solid partnership. After reaching the fifty-run barrier, Kohli seemed more focused on achieving the hundred-run milestone. In the 15th over of the innings, he took on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, hitting him for four fours in five deliveries. With the end in sight, Kohli rotated the strike with ease and smashed a full ball from Bhuvneshwar over deep midwicket for a maximum, bringing up his century in spectacular fashion.
While trying to immediately close up the chase, Kohli was removed off the very next ball when he was caught by Glenn Phillips at deep midwicket. RCB, on the other hand, had little trouble reaching the target with 8 wickets to spare, bolstering their chances of making the playoffs.
Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar, heaped praise on Virat Kohli after his sixth IPL century. He tweeted: “It was evident that this would be Virat’s day from the very first ball when he played that cover drive. Virat and Faf both looked in total control, they not only played many big shots but also ran rather well between the wickets to build a successful partnership. 186 wasn’t a big enough total for the way they both batted”
” , not by his name?”, Fans react as Virat Kohli leads RCB to a win against SRHIt was evident that this would be Virat’s day from the very first ball when he played that cover drive.
Virat and Faf both looked in total control, they not only played many big shots but also ran rather well between the wickets to build a successful partnership.
186 wasn’t a… pic.twitter.com/YpIFVroZfi
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) May 18, 2023
