Irfan Pathan shuts Virat Kohli's strike rate critics with strong reminder of his versatility: ‘He is true champion…’
Virat Kohli's incredible knock against CSK was embellished with 5 sixes and as many fours at a strike rate of 187.88.
Batting maestro Virat Kohli showcased his class once again and scored a blistering half-century against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday. Kohli stamped his authority over CSK bowlers and smashed his fourth consecutive fifty to move to the top spot in the Orange Cap race with 505 runs in 11 matches. The 36-year-old shunned the strike rate critics with his exemplary shots all around the ground to put the five-time champions under pressure.
He slammed 62 runs off 33 balls, which was embellished with 5 sixes and as many fours at a strike rate of 187.88.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan called Kohli the true champion in white-ball cricket as he dissected how the batting maestro changes his approach while batting according to the situation.
"He can anchor the innings, like he did last game with a strike rate close to 100. He can go aggressive, like today with a strike rate of 187. He is true champion in white ball cricket. He is Virat Kohli!" Pathan wrote on X.
It was a game where Kohli rewrote several record books against CSK by showing his consistency over the years. He became the player with the most runs vs an opponent in the cash-rich league as he overtook David Warner in the tally and currently holds three of the first four spots.
Most runs against an opponent in IPL
1146 - Virat Kohli vs CSK
1134 - David Warner vs PBKS
1130 - Virat Kohli vs DC
1104 - Virat Kohli vs PBKS
With his five sixes, Kohli also became the first player to hit 300-plus sixes for a single team in T20 format, while he also overtook Chris Gayle to top the tally of most sixes at a venue in IPL.
Most sixes at a single venue in T20s
152* - Virat Kohli at Bengaluru
151 - Chris Gayle at Bengaluru
138 - Chris Gayle at Mirpur
Pathan also hailed the batting maestro for achieving the massive feats of smashing over 150 sixes at a single IPL venue.
"No one has hit more sixes at a single venue in t20 than Virat Kohli at Chinnaswamy. He’s now at 152 and counting. He is the real swamy," he wrote on X.
RCB outclass CSK once again this season
Earlier, Kohli (62) and opener Jacob Bethell (55) forged a 97-run stand to lay the foundation for a big total, but it was Romario Shepherd's (53*) brutal power-hitting in the slog overs which took Bengaluru to 213/5.
Yash Dayal held his nerves well in the final over of the match to help RCB register a sensational two-run win over CSK.
Chennai, already eliminated from playoffs contention, needed 15 off the last over to prevent Bengaluru from notching its eighth win and topping the table. However, Dayal was right on the money once again to stop the likes of MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube.
