While Virat Kohli can’t stop delivering the goods for his long-term IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024), his critics have come at him once again saying that India’s talisman has a ‘slow’ approach towards making runs for his side.
Virat Kohli’s eighth IPL century, achieved during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) match against Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing T20 league season, has drawn both praise for his consistency and criticism regarding his strike rate. However, Pakistan captain Babar Azam believes that strike rate and winning matches are distinct aspects.
babar azam on meet up with virat kohli #BabarAzamPodcast https://t.co/Oh55gcWrLR pic.twitter.com/fdbQRuhr8V
— Babarfied (@THORthayaar) April 7, 2024
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“People keep talking about strike-rate. I’m a different player. I see a situation and adapt to it…winning a match always remains the goal. I focus on winning, building innings, and batting at a strike rate that helps in achieving that goal. Strike-rate is a separate story. Building an innings and winning are different things.” said Babar.
‘People Will Continue To Find Issues’
In the game against the Royals, Kohli scored his eighth IPL century, extending his record, but his efforts were in vain as RCB lost the match by six wickets. Kohli’s innings of 113 not out from 72 balls attracted criticism for its sluggish pace. His century, achieved in 67 balls, is one of the joint slowest in IPL history.
Nevertheless, Kohli lacked significant support from other batsmen, who contributed just 59 runs collectively to RCB’s total of 183 for 3. This could be a reason why he needed to adopt a more cautious approach, ensuring he batted through to the 20th over, which he ultimately did.
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