IPL 2022 | RCB vs GT | Will the knockout specialist VK perform against the table-toppers?

In Match 67 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will square off against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

The Titans are placed comfortably at the top of the points table with 20 points in 13 matches. But RCB is fighting it out to reach the top four of the tournament, which is placed at number 5 in the points table with 14 points, with their NRR being -0.323.

The main obstacle in Bangalore’s path to the playoffs is the Delhi Capitals, who have also picked up 14 points from 13 matches, but their NRR is way better than RCB at +0.255. Therefore, the situation for RCB demands that they win their game against the table-toppers today and then wait for Rishabh Pant’s team to lose against Mumbai Indians.

So, tonight’s match is a do-or-die for RCB. And the biggest concern for the team is the lack of form of Virat Kohli. The experts have been concerned with the lack of runs for ‘The King’, but the more concerning thing has been the mode of his dismissals and how helpless he has looked throughout the tournament. 

Let us first take a look at Kohli’s records for IPL 2022.

Kohli in IPL 2022

Innings: 13 Runs: 236 Runs Per Innings: 18.15 Strike Rate: 113.46 Balls per Boundary: 7.70 Balls Per Dismissal: 17.33

So, all the stats reading for Kohli in IPL 2022 looks way off the standards he has set for himself. He is taking about eight balls to get a boundary while getting dismissed every 17 balls.

But Kohli is a man of the big match. He has delivered for his team when they have needed him the best in the past. Here we will take a look at the records of Virat Kohli in the knockout matches of the T20 World Cup.

Let us look at how Kohli performs under scoreboard pressure, i.e., chasing a target in the IPL.

VK record in first and second innings

If his scoring rate and runs scored per inning are considered, Kohli is a better batter in the second innings.

Previous Instance: All the cricket fans will remember a similar situation where Virat thrived for India. It was the CB Series of 2012, and India needed to chase down a target of 320 runs against Sri Lanka to keep their hopes alive to play in the finals of the Tri-Series. VK scored 133 runs off 86 deliveries in the match and helped India chase the target in 36.4 overs, keeping them alive in the tournament. Under similar situations, we can hope that VK will come out in flying colours in the match.

Now, trying to find an answer to whether today is the day Kohli comes back to his old self, we need to have an idea about the opposition he will be facing. Kohli will be facing the likes of Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Sai Kishore, and Yash Dayal. So, let us try and find out how he may fare against the bowling attack.

VK vs GT bowlers

Kohli has not played enough of Ravi Sai Kishore and Yash Dayal. So, to find out the matchups against them, let us look at his general record against right-arm pacers and left-arm spinners.

VK vs Bowling types



Plan for Kohli: So, it is Mohammed Shami that Virat needs to avoid. Shami has dismissed Kohli five times, and the matchup works in favour of the bowler. Thus, his opening partner Faf du Plessis, will have to ensure that Kohli is kept away from the strike during Shami’s initial spell. The Indian pacer is breathing fire with the new ball in the tournament, and with the matchup against Kohli acting in his favour, Kohli must be kept away from him.

In the case of the other potent bowler in the GT team, Rashid Khan, Kohli can look to play as he has been playing against him over the years. Hence, he seems to play out Rashid and hence the BPB in the matchup works in Kohli’s favour while the scoring rate works in favour of the bowler.

Conclusion: Kohli visibly thrives under pressure: Be it when his team was about to get eliminated or under scoreboard pressure. Tonight’s match is a virtual eliminator for RCB. It is a match where his team needs Kohli the most. ‘The King’ likes this situation and rescues his team from trouble.

If Kohli can see off the initial burst of Mohammed Shami, today might turn out to be the day Kohli regains his old self. Besides whatever the situation and whatever his form is, there will never be a doubt about the class he has. It is still a matter of a few deliveries, and Kohli spends a reasonable amount of time in the middle before we see him in his full flow. 

RCB will be desperately hoping that Kohli finds his form back, helps them win the match and then the tournament (if they make it to the business end). But, even keeping the RCB aspect in mind, there is a much bigger picture for which VK needs to come back to his form. 

The 2022 T20 World Cup is only a few months away, and India, on the road to its redemption (after group stage elimination in 2021), will need the services of their most prolific run-scorer.