Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 9 : After playing a blitzkrieg knock of 92 runs against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli said it was important for him to keep up his strike-rate in the inning.
Kohli took 47 balls to score 92 runs at a strike rate of 195.74. He hammered 7 fours and 6 sixes during his time on the crease.
Speaking after the first inning, Kohli said it was a tricky phase for the Bengaluru-based franchise when Rajat Patidar was dismissed. Talking about the wicket in Dharamsala, the talisman Indian batter said it was "two-paced".
"It was important to keep up my strike-rate through the innings so I wanted to take on the momentum. It was a tricky phase when Rajat got out, we got three down and the rain came in. So we needed a bit of time to settle but once Cameron and I did, I thought 'I have to go again.' The wicket was a bit two-paced, the ones pitching on the grassy ones were skidding on. Great opportunity for our bowlers to make the early inroads," Kohli was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
Recently, there has been much criticism about Kohli's strike rate and many cricket pundits and fans also questioned the former RCB skipper's approach towards T20 cricket.
Kohli is currently the 'orange cap' holder of the IPL 2024, as he scored 634 runs from 12 matches at a strike rate of 153.51.
He added they thought any run over 230 would be a good total at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
"We thought 230+ would be a good total here. Bowlers are confident with recent successes. That was the only mindset. I thought that was a hell of an over from Harshal, otherwise, we'd be 250+. (Kaverappa, the new-ball bowler) Difficult to analyse in just one game. He has some swing but when new it is tough to figure them out early. Height is there, swing is also there. Kudos to him for starting well with the new ball, but by the fourth over the swing was gone," he added.
Recapping the first inning of the match between PBKS and RCB, after winning the toss Punjab sent Bengaluru to bat first. Virat Kohli's (92) stupendous knock powered RCB to 241/7. Rajat Patidar (55) and Cameron Green (46) were also played a pivotal role in the first inning alongside Kohli.
Harshal Patel led the Punjab bowling attack as he picked up three wickets in his four-over spell. Vidhwath Kaverappa bagged two wickets also. Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran took one wicket each in their respective spells.
Punjab Kings need to make 242 runs to win the match.