'People can talk about their assumptions day in, day out': Kohli's fitting reply to strike-rate critics

Virat Kohli (Pic: AFP)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru stalwart batter Virat Kohli gave a fitting reply to critics about his strike rate in the T20 format after his 70' helped RCB to clinch the fastest win in the IPL history while chasing a 200-plus target in terms of balls remaining on Sunday.

The Narendra Modi Stadium witnessed a boundary-hitting spectacle from Kohli and Will Jacks as RCB raced to a 9-wicket win with 24 balls to space against Gujarat Titans during a nail-biting IPL 2024 encounter.

Kohli, who once again starred in RCB's triumph, was the talk of the town for his knock of 51 runs from 43 deliveries against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

However, a masterclass from Kohli's bat on Sunday saw him score 70' in 44 deliveries at a strike rate of 159.09 which helped the stalwart batter silence his critics even though the outside noise doesn't faze him.

"Not really, all the people who talk about strike rates and me not playing spin well are the ones talking about this stuff. For me, it's about winning the games for the team and there's a reason why you've done it for 15 years, you've done this day in and day out, you've won games for your teams, I'm not quite sure that if you haven't been in that situation yourself, to sit and talk about the game from the box. For me, people can talk about their assumptions day in and day out, but those who have done it day in and day out, they know what's happening and it's a kind of muscle memory for me now," Kohli said after the game.

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RCB have struggled to find the much-needed purple patch to keep their chances of sealing a spot in the playoffs alive.

They endured six consecutive defeats before winning two games on the trot which includes their emphatic nine-wicket win.

"We wanted to step up for ourselves, play for our self-respect. We can't be playing the way we played in the first half of the tournament, we wanted to see the ball as well, we are attacking way more, the fielders are putting their bodies on the line, that's the way we want to play. We haven't been up to standards so far except the last two games, but we just want to continue the same way, we have a great atmosphere in the dressing room. We want to play for ourselves, have some self-respect as to why we're playing at this level and also for the fans who've been supporting us," Kohli added.

Coming to the match, after putting GT to bat, Sai Sudharsan (86') and Shahrukh Khan's (58) blitz powered the hosts to a competitive total of 200/3.

In reply, after skipper Faf du Plessis's dismissal, Kohli and Jacks rattled GT's bowling unit with their 166'-run stand to clinch a 9-wicket win for RCB.

(With agency inputs)