Virat Kohli hit his first IPL century in four years to lead RCB to victory over SRH.
Virat Kohli scored his sixth Indian Premier League (IPL) century to help Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Kohli struck 100 runs off 63 balls as part of a 172-run opening stand with RCB skipper Faf du Plessis. He was finally removed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but the damage had already been done, and RCB eventually triumphed by eight wickets.
Kohli equaled Chris Gayle’s record for the most centuries in the history of the competition with his sixth overall and first IPL century since 2019. It also coincides with Kohli’s broader return to century-scoring form, which saw him overcome protracted ODI and Test century droughts and record his first-ever T20I century at the 2022 Asia Cup.
Naturally, a lot of ex-players and experts voiced their appreciation for what Kohli accomplished, with India’s greatest batting legend Sachin Tendulkar coming out on top. It was clear from the start of the innings that it was going to be the winning one, according to Tendulkar, who spent a lot of years playing alongside Kohli in the twilight of his famous career.
As RCB successfully chased down a target of 187 with four balls remaining, Du Plessis scored 71 runs off 47 balls. Heinrich Klaasen, one of SRH’s in-form batsmen, scored his first-ever IPL century, boosting the team’s morale. Klaasen scored 104 off 51 balls, while the rest of the SRH hitters faltered, making him practically a lone survivor. On the other side, Kohli and Du Plessis effectively put a stop to the pursuit with their first partnership.
In a single stellar season in 2016, Kohli scored a mind-boggling 973 runs with a strike rate of 152.03 and an average of 81.08, accounting for four of his previous five hundreds. After that, Kohli hit his fifth century of the year, hitting 100 runs off of 58 balls as RCB defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 10 runs.
