‘Virat would ‘ve scored 120 instead of 83 ‘: Sunil Gavaskar blasts RCB for’ not supporting’ Kohli in record KKR loss

Virat Kohli maintained his remarkable form in the 2024 IPL by hitting 83 off 59 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday after his fiery 77 against Punjab Kings last week at the M Chinnamooswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. However, RCB managed only 186 for six in 20 overs, which was comfortably chased down by KKR with 19 balls to spare. Left fuming at RCB’s loss at home, which ended an IPL 2024 streak, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at Bengaluru batters for not supporting Kohli in his act.

Sunil Gavaskar expressed dissatisfaction with the batting performance of RCB.
Sunil Gavaskar was not happy with RCB’s batting performance
Kohli did find himself into two partnerships after the early dismissal of captain Faf du Plessis, stitching 65 runs alongside Cameron Green and a 42-run stand with Glenn Maxwell. Kohli attempted to sustain momentum through the two partnerships, but the latter two failed to capitalize on their starts. RCB finished with 182 for six after a handy cameo from Dinesh Karthik, who managed an eight-ball 20, laced with three sixes.

Despite what looked like a challenging total on the two-paced track, KKR, riding on a fiery start from Sunil Narine (47 off 22) and a quickfire fifty from Venkatesh Iyer (50 off 30), chased it down in 16.5 overs with seven wickets in hand.

The loss not only ended an IPL 2024 streak to nine straight home wins since the start of the season, but also extended KKR’s winning record at the Chinnaswamy, as they remain unbeaten at the venue against RCB since 2015. Overall, KKR have managed eight IPL wins against the Royal Challengers, which is the joint-most alongside Mumbai Indians.

Disappointed at the poor batting show from the rest of the RCB line-up, Gavaskar told Star Sports that Kohli would have ended up scoring a century against KKR had the likes of Green and Maxwell supported him well.

Gavaskar stated that Kohli will perform well If accompanied by someone. “If someone had accompanied him today, he would have scored 120 rather than 83 – this is team sport and not a one man game – he received no support today.

RCB, who have now lost twice and won just one in IPL 2024, will next face Lucknow Super Giants on April 2 at home.