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Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has cautioned Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opener Virat Kohli of the challenge Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Mohammed Shami poses ahead of their clash on April 15. While the match will be played at the batting paradise of a wicket at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Benglauru, Pathan feels that Shami's new weapon in the arsenal may trouble the RCB opener. Also, Shami may pitch the ball up to Kohli in order to induce an outside edge.
"Virat Kohli scored 50 runs in the last match, but was a bit upset after getting out. It means that he wants to improve even after scoring a fifty. He wants to improve the strike rate. Mohammad Shami has been in very good form and has bowled just one bad over,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
"Shami gets late movement, but now he has started something new. He turns his wrist to bowl the outswinger. That means that he can bowl the outswinger at will. Virat Kohli will be aware of it. Can he stand on the middle and off stump to counter that swing? Mohammad Shami is likely to bowl one or two full balls to make him drive on the up."
Kohli vs Shami head-to-head
Shami has had an impressive record against Kohli, dismissing him five times in 12 innings. The batter has managed to score 107 runs from 77 deliveries against the veteran pacer.
Shami and Kohli’s form in IPL 2026
In the previous game, Kohli suffered an ankle injury and did not take the fielding during Mumbai Indians' (MI) run chase. Earlier, he scored 50 runs from 38 deliveries. The 37-year-old has scored 179 runs from four innings at an average of 59.66 and strike rate of 162.72, featuring two half-centuries.
On the other hand, Shami has claimed four wickets from as many games. While he is way behind in the purple cap race, his economy rate of 6.25 runs per over is impressive.
Shami’s record vs RCB
Shami has a decent record against RCB, bagging 15 wickets from 14 appearances at an average of 30.6.
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