In the ongoing IPL 2023 match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the hosts won the toss and invited RCB to bat first. Both the openers, Virat Kohli and the Impact Player Faf du Plessis played a scintillating knock to put the visitors in command. Notably, Kohli was captaining the side as Plessis picked up a rib injury in the last match.
Interestingly enough, he chose to stay out of leading the side but came out to bat as an Impact Player for the team. Commendably, despite nursing the injury, he looked in sublime touch en route to a magnificent fifty. Meanwhile, donning the skipper’s hat once again for RCB, Kohli played a stellar knock. He reached his fifty off 40 balls with a four off Arshdeep Singh in the 14th over.
The star batter played some impeccable shots during his knock. Kohli scored 59 off 47 balls before being dismissed by Harpreet Brar with the help of a stunning catch from Jitesh Sharma. His knock consisted of five boundaries and one maximum. Notably, this was his first half-century as the RCB skipper since 2021.
Kohli becomes the first player to attain 100 Thirty-plus scores in the IPL
Virat Kohli got RCB off to an explosive start, but his intensity diminished after the powerplay. Post the stand-in skipper’s departure, Harpreet Brar dismissed all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (0) to derail them from putting up a mammoth total ahead. Meanwhile, Nathan Ellis removed Du Plessis, while Arshdeep Singh dismissed keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik (7).
During the match, Kohli also accomplished a new milestone, completing 600 fours in the cash-rich league. He is just the third batter after Shikhar Dhawan (730) and David Warner (608) to score 600 fours. Moreover, he became the first batter in the history of the league to have notched up 100 thirty-plus scores. PBKS are currently standing fifth in the IPL 2023 points table, having acquired six points from five matches. RCB, on the other hand, is currently in eighth place with four points from five matches.
RCB’s previous encounter in the IPL 2023 was an eight-run loss against four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Bengaluru. Meanwhile, PBKS have registered a two-wicket victory over the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their last match. Both teams will be vying for the critical two points.