Virat Kohli's sublime century, 117 off 72 balls, wasn't enough to bail out the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) from their slump. On Saturday, RCB suffered a six-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals, their fourth in five Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 outings. (Full IPL 2024 Coverage | More Cricket News)
The former skipper's knock came under scrutiny for its strike rate, or the lack of it. Opening the batting with his successor Faf du Plessis, Kohli reached the 100-run mark off the 67th ball he faced -- the joint-slowest in IPL history.
During the innings break, Kohli told the official broadcasters that the Sawai Mansingh Stadium wicket "feels like its flat, but as soon as you see the ball holding up in the pitch, that's when you realise the pace is changing pretty quickly and then the big dimensions of the ground come into play."
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The 35-year-old did admit that their "target initially was 190, 195, to be honest. But then assessing the pitch and how it was slowing down, we decided if one of Faf [du Plessis] or me get out, then the other had to bat till the end so that we can get that boost closer to 180-185, which we did, which I feel is a very effective total on this pitch."
As it turned out, a total of 183/3 proved too little against a power-packed Rajasthan Royals batting line-up, featuring ton-up Jos Buttler (100 off 58) and Sanju Samson (69 off 42). RCB lost the match by six wickets.
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Even as Buttler was giving the finishing touches to the chase, fans, backed by numbers, turned to Kohli with many mocking IPL's most prolific scorer (7,579 runs in 234 innings) for scoring the slowest century in the league's history. Pakistan cricketer Junaid Khan even ridiculed the former India captain by congratulating him.
But others, including Tom Moody, Ambati Rayudu and Mohammad Kaif, found no fault in Kohli's pace.
"Virat Kohli's strike rate shouldn't be questioned, he can't carry the whole team," former Australia cricketer and celebrated coach Moody told ESPNcricinfo. "He provided an outstanding century, but he was let down at the other end".
Kaif agreed. In a social media post, the former India batter hailed Kohli as "a miracle".
"Got to feel for Virat who has been the lone warrior for RCB. He has a mind that's never satisfied by achievements and a body that never tires," wrote Kaif. "Virat Kohli is a miracle. No one can predict his limits or the heights he will reach."
Rayudu also felt that it was a "selfless innings," played for the team.
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"Virat Kohli's yesterday innings is his most selfless innings. He played for his team. He could've scored quick boundaries for his own strike Rate and could've got out but he did what his team needed," Rayudu told Star Sports.
Five Slowest Centuries In IPL
Virat Kohli – 67 balls (2024)
Manish Pandey – 67 balls (2009)
Sachin Tendulkar – 66 balls (2011)
David Warner – 66 balls (2010)
Jos Buttler – 66 balls (2022)
