IPL 2022 | RCB vs GT | The Return of the King

'Match 67' of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 saw Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) take the field against each other. RCB emerged victorious by a comfortable margin of 8 wickets with 1.2 overs remaining in a match which was a do-or-die fixture.

Gujarat won the toss and decided to bat first. Following an impressive show by the team's skipper, Hardik Pandya (62* of 47), GT posted an impressive total of 168 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in their 20 overs. 

RCB, while chasing the target, looked to be positive from the very beginning, and it was King Virat Kohli, whose bat did the talking. However, before speaking further about Kohli's innings, let us look at how he paced it:

Virat Kohli’s strike rate vs GT

A bit of luck going in his favour at the beginning, and that is all he required to gift the fans a vintage Kohli knock. The Virat Kohli we know is a batter full of dynamism. Even if he is not getting a boundary, he keeps rotating the strike picking up singles and two's. Exactly what we saw last night from the blade of the King.

What was different was that he had a positive intent and an aggressive approach. He was looking to take on the bowler. Even when Kohli could not pick up boundaries, he was looking to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard moving.

In the first ten balls, he maintained a strike rate of 110 which then increased to 170. He maintained his strike around that mark and kept the pressure off Faf du Plessis, who was at the other end. He set up the foundation for RCB's chase, on which Maxwell capitalized in the latter phase.

Maxwell's knock of 40 runs off 18 balls ensured Kohli's efforts did not go in vain. RCB ultimately won the match and kept their hopes of making it to the playoffs alive. 

Coming back to Kohli, the most significant positive to take from the match was his body language. The aggressive VK, who could intimidate the opposition by his presence, was back. The self-confident, aggressive and assured Virat Kohli is what the fans were missing, and the whole cricketing world will be relieved that he has found back his mojo. 

Suppose RCB do make it to the business end of the tournament. In that case, they will surely need the services of the talismanic batter, and he will also be an important part of India's plan for the 2022 T20 World Cup scheduled later this year in Australia.