Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) seasoned opener Virat Kohli on April 15 played as an impact player for the first time in his Indian Premier League (IPL) career. Kohli was unwell and suffered an injury in the previous game as he didn’t field against Mumbai Indians (MI) after scoring a half-century. Against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), he delivered with a 34-ball 49 in the run chase of 147. After the comprehensive five-wicket win with 29 balls to spare, Kohli gave a fitness update, confirming he is not at 100 per cent.
"Much better than the last game. I'm still not 100%. My knee was a bit sore last game. Even health-wise, I've been under the weather for four or five days now. So, just getting back up to my best,” Kohli said after the match.
Kohli kept the tempo up in the powerplay overs while Phil Salt and Devdutt Padikkal were dismissed cheaply. He hit six fours and a six before getting dismissed by Avesh Khan. He rued not being able to finish the game himself.
"I started off well today, so I was happy with my intensity. Again, would have liked to carry on and finish the game off. Sometimes you have to take the conditions into account as well,” Kohli said.
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"The pitch slowed down considerably and I just wanted to probably keep going in the same manner. But, yeah, in the end, should have probably finished that one off as well," he added.
Kohli gets orange cap
But, the 49-run knock was enough to get the orange cap off Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) Heinrich Klaasen's head. The 37-year-old has 228 runs from five innings at an average of 57 and strike rate of 158.33.
RCB on top, next opponent DC
The win boosted RCB's net run rate (NRR) and helped them climb to the to of the points table, surpassing Rajasthan Royals (RR).
RCB's next match is against Delhi Capitals (DC) at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 18. It is yet to be seen whether Kohli continues to play as an impact player in the next few games or take the field as well.