“Played 59 balls to reach 83,” ex-Indian opener takes subtle dig at Virat Kohli after slow knock in IPL

Virat Kohli was singled out by fans for his innings, which saw a strike rate of 140.67.

“Played 59 balls to reach 83,” ex-Indian opener takes subtle dig at Virat Kohli after slow knock in IPL

Virat Kohli (Image via Imago)

On 29th March, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) hosted Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and lost by seven wickets. The match saw poor batting and bowling by the hosts, as KKR took just 101 balls to chase down a target of 183. 

With the loss, everyone claimed that Virat Kohli had a hand in RCB’s loss. The former Indian captain had put up 83 runs on the board, but took 59 balls to score that much. During the 2nd innings, KKR openers Phil Salt and Sunil Narine smacked 85 runs in the powerplay itself. Noticing how fast the KKR duo performed, Aakash Chopra praised them heavily. 

YouTube video

He commented that when Narine comes in to bat, he looks to attack from ball one and that’s exactly what he did. Chopra commended Salt for supporting Narine as well, not before taking a small dig at Kohli’s innings.  

Just to put things in context, the opposing team bowled well but Kohli played 59 balls to reach 83 and Kolkata had already scored 85 in 5.5 overs. 
Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel

Virat Kohli gifts Rinku Singh his bat after RCB-KKR clash 

After KKR’s win at the Chinnaswamy, Rinku Singh met up with India teammate Virat Kohli. In their encounter, Kohli gifted the rising star his bat and the two discussed cricket. The KKR page uploaded the photos of their encounter on Instagram, with it getting over 220k likes. 

Virat Kohli and Rinku Singh
Virat Kohli and Rinku Singh (Image via Instagram)

Rinku Singh is one of the most exciting cricketers coming in the limelight. Ever since his breakout season for KKR in 2023, the 26-year-old cemented his spot in the Indian T20 team as well. His last innings for India saw a match winning 69* against Afghanistan after India were 22/4. He and Rohit Sharma built a 190 runs partnership to win the game. 

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