Virat Kohli, despite being the current IPL 2024 Orange Cap holder and the first centurion of the season faced backlash for the strike rate at which he scored runs. While his unbeaten knock of 113 runs was undeniably impressive, the slow pace of his innings has reignited the debate about strike rate in T20 cricket. Social media hasn't been kind to Kohli, especially after Jos Buttler's blistering 58-ball century for Rajasthan Royals in the same match. Despite Kohli's centurion knock RCB suffered a six-wicket defeat at the hands of RR, thanks to Buttler's blistering innings. The contrast between their innings has fueled criticism of Kohli's approach.
Michael Clarke comes to Virat Kohli's rescue
However, amidst the negativity, former Australian captain Michael Clarke came to Kohli's defense. Batting first, Kohli and his opening partner Faf du Plessis put on a strong partnership of 125 runs. Unfortunately, after du Plessis' dismissal, Kohli found himself in a challenging position with minimal support from the rest of the batting order. Despite this, he persevered and managed to score 113 runs, including 12 boundaries and 4 sixes, off 72 balls. He reached his century in 67 balls, tying the record for the joint-slowest in IPL history.
However, former Australian captain Michael Clarke offered a different perspective. Instead of criticizing Kohli for the loss, Clarke pointed to the lack of support the star batsman received from the rest of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's batting line-up. Clarke believes Kohli's innings may have been a strategic choice, prioritising anchoring the innings and stabilising the batting order in light of limited contributions from his teammates.
“I wouldn't point my fingers at Virat Kohli. He was brilliant and I think he played the exact role he needed to play because the batters around him are not scoring enough runs, not playing with enough confidence or enough freedom,” Clarke told Star Sports.
Clarke questions RCB's batting order
Michael Clarke questioned RCB's batting order strategy. Specifically, Clarke wondered if sending Cameron Green into bat ahead of the in-form Dinesh Karthik might have been a missed opportunity. Karthik has been performing exceptionally well in the lower-middle order for RCB throughout the 2024 season. By highlighting this, Clarke suggests that a different batting order might have provided Kohli with more support and potentially altered the outcome of the match.
“I think RCB left 15 runs on the ground. A few of their decisions were hard to understand. You have got Karthik as a finisher; I don’t know why he did not come in probably after Maxwell. He certainly should have come in before Green. That was an interesting decision,” former Australia captain concluded.
RCB's torrid form in IPL 2024 continues
RCB's struggles continued on Saturday in Jaipur. Their loss to the Rajasthan Royals marked a hat-trick of defeats and pushed them to eighth spot in the IPL 2024's points table. With just one win in their last five matches, RCB find themselves in a precarious position and will need to find a way to turn things around quickly. RCB will next face Mumbai Indians on April 11 at Wankhede stadium.
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