Former India opener Aakash Chopra has raised questions over Virat Kohli’s innings against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, April 12. The right-handed batter scored 50 off 38 balls in an innings where the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) scored 240 in their 20 overs.
Chopra stated that this kind of knock, where an opener scores at a strike-rate of 131.58, is not synonymous with the modern T20 game, nor is it with Kohli as a player.
“Virat Kohli actually scored very slow runs. If you look at it in
the context of the match, you feel it doesn't matter as you won, but if you see it from the cricketing lens, it was a very slow knock. This kind of knock is unbecoming of this contest, and neither is it becoming of Virat," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
There was undoubtedly something wrong with Kohli in that game. The former RCB opener did not come out to field in the second innings due to a slight niggle. Chopra, therefore, gives him the benefit of the doubt in that situation, which could have hampered his mindset.
“He was trying, but it just did not come off. In fact, he was probably so distracted that he wasted two reviews on wide balls. That just told me something about his mindset. He was injured as well. Maybe that is a bit of an issue because it was the first time I didn't see him come to field. So he was injured and the knock was slow as well,” he added.
The knock against MI was a bit of an anomaly for Kohli this season in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The RCB star has scored 179 runs from four innings so far in the tournament at an average of just shy of 60, whilst striking at 162.72.
Regardless of his performance against the five-time champions, Kohli remains a vital member of RCB, and his opening partnership with Phil Salt was the backbone behind their win at the Wankhede Stadium. The pair put 120 on the board for the first wicket, which was the second-highest opening stand for the Royal Challengers against MI.
