"He is trying to dominate spin this year" - Aakash Chopra lauds Virat Kohli's knock in RCB's IPL 2024 win vs GT

Aakash Chopra has lauded Virat Kohli for his strokeplay against both spin and pace in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2024 win against the Gujarat Titans (GT).

The Titans set RCB a 201-run target in Ahmedabad on Sunday, April 28. Kohli then scored an unbeaten 70 off 44 deliveries as the visitors chased the target down with nine wickets and four overs to spare.

Reflecting on RCB's chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra praised Kohli for playing an aggressive knock.

"We got to see Kohli's Virat avatar. He played both spin and fast bowling very well. He is trying to dominate spin this year and also hitting lofted shots extremely well in the powerplay. If we talk about players like Virat and Rohit Sharma, these players are slightly beyond numbers," he said (4:15).

The former India opener noted that Kohli played a few excellent slog sweeps and was the aggressor in the initial stages of his partnership with Will Jacks.

"However, Virat is consistently trying to run slightly faster this time. The sixes he hit off Noor Ahmed's bowling while kneeling, he batted extremely well. He was there and then came a storm named Will Jacks. It seemed for a long time that Virat Kohli was shielding him," Chopra observed.

Chopra also appreciated Jacks for demolishing the Gujarat Titans attack once he got his eye in.

"I even tweeted 'Will Jacks to be dismissed soon'. He read it and then the way he smashed, he destroyed Mohit Sharma in one over. He was continuously bowling back-of-the-hand slower ones and Will Jacks was hitting sixes. Then he hit Rashid Khan for 29 runs in an over. It was his most expensive over to date," he elaborated.

Jacks smoked an unbeaten 100 off just 41 balls with the help of five fours and 10 sixes. He reached his fifty off 31 deliveries and needed only 10 more balls to score his hundred.

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"It's extremely difficult to hit a six off the back foot" - Mohammad Kaif on Virat Kohli's six over long-off off Sai Kishore's bowling

Virat Kohli struck six fours and three sixes during his 70-run knock. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Reviewing the match on Star Sports, Mohammad Kaif also praised Virat Kohli's game against spin, especially his six over long-off off Sai Kishore's bowling.

"He got a 28-run start in the powerplay. Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore came after that. Hitting a six over extra cover is not an ordinary shot. It's extremely difficult to hit a six off the back foot. He also ran fast, it was hot, and he brought his fitness into the game," he said.

The former India batter noted that Kohli laid the platform for Will Jacks' destructive knock.

"The cross-batted shots he is playing, he did that against Sunil (Narine) and Varun (Chakaravarthy), and he did that here as well. If 10-11 runs per over are required, you will get to see all the shots. He plays the situation. He played fast first and then Will Jacks finished the game. Virat Kohli laid the foundation," Kaif elaborated.

Jacks joined Kohli in the middle when RCB lost Faf du Plessis' wicket in the fourth over. The duo stitched together an unbroken 166-run second-wicket partnership in just 12.1 overs to help the bottom-placed team on the points table register their third win and keep their slim hopes of qualifying for the playoffs alive.