"The ultimate chase master" - Fans erupt as Virat Kohli smashes century during SRH vs RCB in IPL 2023

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli starred with the bat against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, May 18.

The right-handed batter smashed 100 off just 63 balls at a stunning strike rate of 158.73, including 12 boundaries and four sixes. It was Kohli’s sixth IPL century, joint-most with former teammate Chris Gayle, his first since IPL 2019.

The 34-year-old shared a 172-run partnership with RCB captain Faf du Plessis for the opening wicket while chasing 187. The duo took all the SRH bowlers to the cleaners during their power-packed show with the bat.

Fans on Twitter were excited to witness one of the best innings from Virat Kohli in the IPL. One user tweeted:

"The ultimate chase master."

Here are some of the best Twitter reactions:

With his century, Virat Kohli also completed 500 runs in this edition of the IPL. The Delhi-born batter has, so far, amassed 538 runs in 13 games at a strike rate of 135.85, including a ton and six half-centuries. He will now look to guide RCB to their maiden IPL trophy this season.

For the uninitiated, Kohli is also the all-time leading run-scorer in IPL with 7162 runs in 236 games.

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Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis help RCB win by eight wickets in a crucial IPL 2023 game

A clinical batting display from Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis helped the Royal Challengers Bangalore beat the SunRisers Hyderabad by eight wickets on Thursday.

Besides Kohli, du Plessis also starred with the bat, scoring 71 off 47 balls, including two sixes and seven boundaries. For SRH, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan settled for one wicket apiece.

Earlier in the day, SRH posted 186/5 after being asked to bat first. Heinrich Klassen shone for the SunRisers with 104 off 51 balls at a strike rate of 203.92, including eight boundaries and six maximums. Harry Brook also chipped in with an unbeaten 29 off 19 deliveries.

For RCB, Michael Bracewell emerged as the pick of the bowlers, returning with figures of 2/13. Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Harshal Patel took one wicket each.

With the win, the Bengaluru-based franchise has jumped to fourth spot in the latest IPL 2023 points table. They have equal (14)) points with five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) but possess a positive net run rate.

RCB now must win their last group-stage game against defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) by a decent margin to qualify for the playoffs.

Click here to check out the SRH vs RCB full scorecard.