Sanjay Bangar, the head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), provided an update on Virat Kohli’s knee injury, which he sustained during their 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) final league stage match against Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 21 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Notably, RCB were eliminated from the IPL 2023 after suffering a six-wicket loss against the defending champions.
In the 15th over of GT’s innings, RCB star batter Kohli injured his knee while taking a catch off Vijay Shankar. Soon after, a physio arrived, and Kohli walked off the pitch, not returning from the 15th over.
Since India are scheduled to meet Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final on June 7, Kohli’s injury has become a major concern. In the post-match press conference, Bangar, however, confirmed that the injury is not serious. He went on to say that the former RCB captain is someone who wants to contribute not only with the bat but also with his fielding. He added that Kohli did a lot of running and the body will complain at some point.
“Yeah, he had a bit of a niggle in his knee. But I don’t think there is anything serious. Having scored two back-to-back hundreds within a gap of 4 days. He is somebody who not only wants to contribute with the bat but even when he is fielding. He did a lot of running around. 40 overs a couple of days ago and today, for 35 overs he was on the field. He was giving his best. So it is going to bother at some point but I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Bangar said as quoted by Cricbuzz.
GT beat RCb by six wickets to finish their campaign in style
Speaking about the match, GT skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to field first. Kohli (101* off 61) scored his second IPL hundred this season as RCB posted 197 runs in 20 overs. Meanwhile, Noor Ahmad picked up two wickets while Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan, and Yash Dayal grabbed one each for the Hardik Pandya-led side.
In response, GT’s in-form opener Shubman Gill smashed his second IPL century and guided his side to register a comfortable six-wicket win over the hosts. Gill scored an unbeaten 104 off 52 balls, including 5 fours and eight sixes. Apart from Gill, Vijay Shankar also provided a much-needed contribution, scoring 53 off 35 deliveries.