Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven runs on Saturday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell were the heroes for them with the bat as the bowlers also stepped up to defend 189 runs. Meanwhile, stand-in captain Virat Kohli also reached a milestone completing 100 catches in his IPL career. However, he had a forgettable day with the bat as he bagged a golden duck. Trent Boult dismissed him on the first ball of the innings trapping him plumb in front of the stumps.
While this was the seventh time Virat Kohli got out for a golden duck in his IPL career, not many are aware that he got out on the first ball for the third time on April 23. In 2017, 2022 and now in 2023 in the IPL, the former RCB skipper bagged golden ducks leaving the fans stunned. Interestingly, he had also bagged a golden duck last season when RCB played in the green jersey.
Neverthelss, Virat Kohli isn't going through a lean phase this season having scored four fifties in seven matches and has scored 279 runs so far. Apart from his golden duck, RCB had a good day at the office as they won the match. The stand-in captain Virat Kohli was delighted with the team's performance as well.
"To be honest, we had this discussion during toss. The pitch looked dry and I mentioned to the guys that they will have 10 overs under lights which is very difficult out here. The advantage was the ball got scuffed up. However, with the impact player rule and the extra batter, games are always on. That's why so many close games. The counter-attack from Maxi and Faf was even better than the Chennai game, it was a better surface that day. Maxi took the game away in just four overs.
We thought 160 might be enough but the way they batted helped us to 190. (On Siraj) Phenomenal, he's got him (Buttler) out in the past and he's bowling as well as I've ever seen. Running in with the new ball he shows that intent and the confidence, he has the Purple Cap and for good reason. He's leading the attack and hopefully Josh comes in next game.
"(On Harshal Patel) He always bowls the tough overs, not easy at Chinnaswamy. He's closed out games against DC and today as well. So massive credit to the way he has performed. We trust him to deliver at the death. Whenever Hazlewood comes in, we might look like a different attack," Kohli said.
