“Fans would be happier if Kohli scores at a quicker pace” - Aakash Chopra reflects on RCB batter’s 1st half-century in IPL 2022

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra has admitted that Virat Kohli’s return to form in IPL 2022 is good news for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as well as fans of the franchise. He, however, added that the next box the 33-year-old needs to tick is that of scoring at a faster pace.

The senior Bangalore batter scored 58 in the team’s previous match against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. However, the knock came off 53 balls as Kohli could never quite accelerate. Batting first, RCB scored 170 for six, but Gujarat chased down the total with ease, getting home with six wickets in hand.

Analyzing the former Indian captain’s knock, Chopra said that it was a good effort but he now needs to do much better. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he opined:

“It is great news that Virat has scored runs. But RCB fans would be happier if Kohli scores at a quicker pace.”

Bangalore’s next IPL 2022 clash will be against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on Wednesday (4 May). Urging RCB captain Faf du Plessis to lift his game with the bat, Chopra stated that CSK might use the spin of Maheesh Theekshana at the start to try and unsettle Bangalore’s opening duo. He said:

“Faf du Plessis’ bat has been silent for a long time. He needs to score. CSK might try Theekshana at the start as he dismissed Du Plessis last time. Kohli too doesn’t score quickly against spin at the start.”

Chennai defeated Bangalore when the two sides met in the first half of IPL 2022. Du Plessis fell to Theekshana for eight, trying to hit him for a boundary. Kohli was out for just one as he pulled Mukesh Choudhary to deep square leg.

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“They need to arrest the slide” - Aakash Chopra on RCB’s batting issues

Heading into the match against Chennai, Bangalore have lost three games in a row. Analyzing where RCB are going wrong, Chopra blamed the batting department for letting the IPL team down. He elaborated:

“For Bangalore, Kohli has hit form, Rajat Patidar is also looking good. Faf du Plessis is not scoring but Maxwell is looking alright. Basically, the batting hasn’t worked in the last three games. They were all out for 68, then failed to chase 144. They made 170 when they should have scored 190. They need to arrest the slide.”

Bangalore are currently placed sixth in the IPL points table 2022 with five wins and an equal number of losses. Chennai, meanwhile, are ninth with six points from nine matches.