"He read the match-up perfectly"- Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli's captaincy for RCB vs PBKS in IPL 2023

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh hailed Virat Kohli for his brilliant captaincy in Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) win over the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Thursday.

Singh lauded Kohli for moving around his bowlers really well, particularly shedding light on the moment when he brought wrist spinner Wanindu Hasaranga as a match-up in the powerplay. The Bangalore skipper's tactics worked wonders and allowed RCB to successfully defend the target of 175.

In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Harbhajan Singh had to say about Virat Kohli's captaincy:

"Virat Kohli was back doing captaincy after a long time and was absolutely brilliant. The way he brought Hasaranga early to dismiss Matthew Short showed signs of good captaincy. He read the match-up perfectly that Short plays pace well and struggles against spin and was rewarded when Hasaranga dismissed the batter."

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Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli's knock against Punjab

Harbhajan Singh also heaped praise on Kohli for his knock of 59 and the partnership that he forged with Faf du Plessis. The two openers have complemented each other really well this season. Singh stated:

"King Kohli scored his fourth half-century of this season already. Last year his bat was silent, but this time he has been absolutely on fire. The start given by Kohli and Du Plessis once again was very crucial for RCB to get to a competitive total."

The former cricketer also touched on Virat Kohli's strike rate and opined that while it didn't hurt RCB against Punjab, the star batter might want to score quicker in the upcoming games. He added:

"Kohli might still want to look a bit at his strike rate in that innings of 59. If he scores a bit quicker and maintains this consistency, RCB will not come in any team's grasp."

RCB will look to build on their morale-boosting win against PBKS to get their IPL 2023 season back on track. They face league leaders Rajasthan Royals next on Sunday, April 23.