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In the IPL 2025 opener, Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Kolkata Knight Riders thanks to another brilliant chasing display from Virat Kohli, who crafted an undefeated half-century. Kohli did what he does best when chasing a target of 175, he paced the innings with accuracy and ended with an undefeated 59 in a dominant 36-ball knock. With three sixes and four fours in his 30-ball fifty, Kohli helped RCB complete the chase in 16.2 overs without any problems.
Dinesh Karthik teases Virat Kohli
Dinesh Karthik, who became the team's batting coach prior to the 2025 season, spoke to the dressing room after RCB's significant victory and commended Kohli for his knock. During the pre-match opening ceremony, the former wicketkeeper-batter also discussed Kohli's performance with Bollywood icon and KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan, in which the two danced on stage together.
"There was one man who started off with a nice dance today. Andy said his footwork was good because of the dance. I don't crack such jokes," Karthik said addressing Kohli
The batting coach praised Kohli's ability to pace the innings in a run-chase, saying that all of the batters learned from it.
โI did think, being the chase-master โ the tag you got โ most importantly, this is a lesson to a lot of the batters (on) how you go through the ebs and flow of the game. You took it hard at the start... then you realised there was a situation where you need to be there. That's what we expect from the batters,โ said Karthik.
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The early fireworks came from England's Phil Salt, who made his RCB debut and struck an incredible 56 off 31 balls. With his trademark authority, Kohli, meanwhile, anchored the chase and easily dispatched KKR's bowling assault. Krunal Pandya's game-changing 3/29 had previously caused the reigning champions to falter to a below-par 174/8, and once Kohli took charge, the outcome was inevitable.
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