Having fallen cheaply in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL 2024 opener against Chennai Super Kings, Virat Kohli will be keen to come up with a big score on Monday, March 25. RCB take on Punjab Kings in match number six of the competition at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The Faf du Plessis-led RCB began their IPL 2024 campaign with a six-wicket loss against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, March 22.
Batting first after winning the toss, Bengaluru put up 173-6, which CSK chased down in 18.4 overs. Kohli was dismissed for 21 off 20, miscuing a pull off Mustafizur Rahman towards deep midwicket.
The 35-year-old will be expected to come up with a good performance against Punjab Kings on Monday at RCB's home venue. Kohli has slammed a record seven hundreds in the IPL, and one of them came against PBKS (then Punjab Kings) in Bengaluru in the 2016 edition.
Recap of Virat Kohli's brilliant ton against Punjab
In match number 50 of the 2016 edition of the Indian Premier League, Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to field first.
The move, though, backfired, as RCB put up 211-3 in a game reduced to 15 overs per side. Kohli clobbered a superb 113 off 50, hitting 12 fours and eight sixes.
According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the right-handed batter played the game with nine stitches on his left hand due to a split webbing to notch up his fourth hundred of the IPL 2016 season. Kohli and Chris Gayle (73 off 32) added a whirlwind 147 for the opening wicket in 10.6 overs.
RCB raced away to 63-0 at the end of the powerplay. In the seventh over, Kohli took on KC Cariappa and hit him for a four and two sixes. After crossing his half-century, he clubbed the bowler for three sixes in the 10th over as Bengaluru reached 129-0.
After Gayle and AB de Villiers (0) perished at the other end, Kohli took on Mohit Sharma in the 13th over and slapped him for three consecutive fours. He brought up his fourth hundred of the season by flicking Sandeep Sharma between deep midwicket and long-on for four.
The next two balls were clubbed for six and four, respectively. He fell to the last ball of the over, miscuing an attempted big hit to long-off.
Punjab Kings were set a revised DLS target of 203 in 14 overs but finished on 120-9. Yuzvendra Chahal starred with 4-25 in three overs.
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