Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli equalled a massive record of his former teammate and ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle when he notched up his sixth century in the Indian Premier League in a must-win IPL 2023 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on Thursday night. Kohli hammered a 63-ball 100 to help RCB chase down 187-run target after SRH’s Heinrich Klaasen had also scored a maiden IPL hundred.
Kohli’s century helped RCB jump over Mumbai Indians into the 4th position on the IPL 2023 Points Table with their second successive win and they now have 14 points from 13 matches. It was Kohli’s 7th century in all T20 cricket, helping him surpass KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma’s record of six centuries.
A magnificent CENTURY by Virat Kohli __
Take a bow, King Kohli!
His SIXTH century in the IPL.#TATAIPL #SRHvRCB pic.twitter.com/gd39A6tp5d
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2023
Kohli deservedly won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning century and called it a ‘special’ one considering the magnitude of the game. “It is quite special considering the magnitude of the game. We saw the ball was gripping in the middle. We wanted a solid start but did not expect to be 172 for no loss. That’s how well Faf and I have played, he’s been on a different level. I had a quiet couple of games and wasn’t hitting as well in the game as I was in the nets. My intent from ball 1 was to go after the bowlers,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
The former RCB captain revealed that he prefers not to play any ‘fancy’ shots in his innings unlike batters like Suryakumar Yadav, who have come to be known as ‘Mr 360’. “Happy that it all came together nicely. I never look at my numbers. I don’t give myself enough credit sometimes for playing impact knocks. I take pride to play the situation. I don’t play fancy shots. We have to play 12 months of the year, so you can’t play fancy shots and throw your wicket away. I try to stay true to my technique and take pride which helps my team,” Kohli said.
On his 172-run opening partnership with RCB captain Faf du Plessis, Kohli said, “I think it’s the tattoos. Very similar to how AB and me batting together. There’s a good sense of where we are and how to take the game forward. It’s been a beautiful transition. Blessed and grateful for the support. I told Faf that it was like a home game, cheering for RCB and taking my name as well. I feel you can’t create this. I’m myself on the field and think it resonates with the people. Great to see people happy when I perform.”
