Star Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batsman Virat Kohli was given the ‘Player of the Match’ award in the dressing room after his side’s loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Chinnnaswamy Stadium on Friday . After the loss, Virat, who hit 83* in 59 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes, was given a gift basket by his teammate Glenn Maxwell. His knock took RCB to 182/6 in their 20 overs, but explosive knocks from Sunil Narine and Venkatesh Iyer saw KKR chasing him down with 19 balls to spare, with seven wickets in hand.
After receiving the award, Virat, as quoted in a video by RCB’s and move forward with the same courage and the same belief in our abilities. That’s all we can think of, so let’s stay on that path.”
Virat is also the current ‘Orange Cap’ holder for most runs in IPL 2023, having scored 181 runs in three innings at an average of 90.50 and a strike rate of over 141. He has scored two half-centuries, with the best score of 83*.
After KKR won the toss, they opted to field. After losing skipper Faf early, Virat Kohli had a 65-run partnership with Cameron Green (33 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and a 42-run stand with Glenn Maxwell (28 in 19 balls, with three fours and a six). Virat scored 83* in 59 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes to take RCB to 182/6 along with Dinesh Karthik (20* in eight balls, with three sixes) in their 20 overs.
Andre Russell (2/29) and Harshit Rana (2/39) were the choice of bowlers for KKR.
In the run chase, Phil Salt (30 in 20 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Sunil Narine (47 in 22 balls, with two fours and five sixes) got KKR off to a fine start with a quick stand-in from 86 runs. 39 balls. After Vyshak and Mayank Dagar (1/23 each) dismissed the openers, Venkatesh Iyer (50* in 30 balls, with three fours and four sixes) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (39 in 24 balls, with two fours and two sixes) led the way. KKR to a seven-wicket win with 19 balls to go.
Sunil won ‘Player of the Match’ in his 500th match for his knock of 47 and one wicket.
RCB are sixth in the points table with one win and two losses. They only have two points. KKR are second with two wins in two matches, with four points.
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