"So beautiful, so elegant, looking like a wow" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's six off Mitchell Starc's bowling in RCB's IPL 2024 loss to KKR

Aakash Chopra has lauded Virat Kohli for playing a fighting knock in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2024 clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday, March 29. He particularly appreciated the opener's flicked six off Mitchell Starc's bowling.

Kohli scored an unbeaten 83 off 59 deliveries as RCB set KKR a 183-run target in Bengaluru. However, his knock went in vain as the visitors chased down the target with seven wickets and 19 deliveries to spare.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's batting in Friday's game. He was spellbound by Kohli's maximum against Starc, saying (1:50):

"When Bengaluru got to bat, you expected them to do something big. The way Virat Kohli started, he played a flick shot for a six against Mitchell Starc - so beautiful, so elegant, looking like a wow. He started with a four as well."

The former India opener noted that Faf du Plessis hasn't delivered in his last two innings.

"Faf du Plessis played a decent first innings in Chennai, but after that, the last two innings have not been good. He played an unconventional 'Supla' shot and Harshit Rana dismissed him off the next ball. This team stumbled a little after Faf got out," Chopra observed.

Chopra added that RCB lost wickets regularly despite the KKR fielders' benevolence.

"Virat Kohli was batting very well at one end. Cameron Green also came in the middle and batted well, but then wickets at crucial intervals, whether it was Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) or Cameron Green. Kolkata dropped catches but despite that, they kept getting out in the end," he elaborated.

Glenn Maxwell had a charmed stay in the middle as he was dropped by Ramandeep Singh and Sunil Narine on 11 and 21, respectively. However, he couldn't make the most of the reprieves as he holed out to Rinku Singh in the deep off Narine's bowling for a 19-ball 28.

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"Something happens to Dinesh Karthik in a World Cup year" - Aakash Chopra on RCB veteran's cameo

Dinesh Karthik smashed 20 runs off eight deliveries. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra noted that Dinesh Karthik, much like Ravichandran Ashwin, has an uncanny knack for shining just before a T20 World Cup.

"Dinesh Karthik came in the end and played some good slogs. Something happens to Dinesh Karthik in a World Cup year. He becomes incredible. He and Ravichandran Ashwin do something different in T20 cricket in a World Cup year. Ashwin hit (Anrich) Nortje against Delhi and Karthik hit sixes here and in the last match," he said (3:10).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that while Virat Kohli lived up to expectations, RCB posted a below-par total.

"The team reached 182, out of which Virat Kohli scored a 59-ball 83 at a strike rate of 140. When you see this innings in isolation, you say well played Virat Kohli, but when you see how far the Bengaluru team was behind in the end, you feel whether less runs were scored. Since wickets were falling at regular intervals, you couldn't have expected more from Kohli," Chopra elaborated.

KKR chased down the target relatively easily after Sunil Narine and Phil Salt gave them a belligerent start. The RCB bowlers were found wanting, with Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, and Alzarri Joseph being taken to the cleaners.