"The six he hit off Rahul Chahar's bowling over cover, what a shot" - Aakash Chopra lauds Virat Kohli's knock in RCB's IPL 2024 win vs PBKS

Aakash Chopra has lauded Virat Kohli for scoring a match-winning half-century in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2024 clash against the Punjab Kings (PBKS). He was particularly appreciative of a couple of shots the former RCB skipper played against Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Chahar.

PBKS set RCB a 177-run target after being asked to bat first in Bengaluru on Monday, March 25. Kohli then smashed a 49-ball 77 to help the home team register a four-wicket win with four deliveries to spare.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked the three standout performers from the RCB-PBKS clash. Choosing Kohli as the first, he said (13:40):

"My first performer of the day from this match was Virat Kohli. How well he batted. He got a life on his second ball, Jonny Bairstow dropped a catch, and it went for a four. After that, he hit three more fours, four fours in the first over. When he hit Kagiso Rabada after stepping out, I said Kohli's bat was firing."

"He never looked back after that. After that, the six he hit off Rahul Chahar's bowling over cover, what a shot. It was probably that six because of which the captain said that he wouldn't bowl him (Chahar) anymore. Rahul Chahar bowled just one over," the former India opener added.

Chopra noted that the dominance and comfort with which Kohli batted reflected his form. He predicted a great season for the current Orange Cap holder.

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"When Kohli got out, it seemed like the match was turning in Punjab's favor" - Aakash Chopra praises Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik smashed an unbeaten 28 off just 10 balls. [P/C: iplt20.com]

While observing that PBKS' Harpreet Brar and Kagiso Rabada could have been contenders, Aakash Chopra chose RCB's Dinesh Karthik as the second performer of the day.

"I am going with Dinesh Karthik because when Kohli got out, it seemed like the match was turning in Punjab's favor. He hasn't played international cricket for a long while and Arshdeep Singh, who is India's premier bowler, was in front of him. So for Karthik to hit him like that, it means he is on top of his game still and Arshdeep felt the pressure. Harshal Patel as well," he reasoned (15:10).

The reputed commentator named Mahipal Lomror (17* off eight balls) as the third star performer on the day.

"My third performer is Mahipal Lomror. You might forget this performance after three weeks because you don't remember a small performance. However, the way he batted, a four off the first ball and then a six off Arshdeep and another four after that, Lomror was absolutely brilliant under pressure," Chopra elaborated.

Lomror joined Karthik in the middle when RCB needed 47 runs off 22 balls with four wickets in hand. The duo scored the required runs off just 18 deliveries to help their side garner their first two points.