Indian Premier League 2016 - 19th Match
(Gujarat Lions vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at Rajkot)
Lions win despite Virat Kohli's maiden T20 ton
| RCB | vs | GL |
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| 180/2 (20) | 182/4 (19.3) | |
| GL won by 6 wickets | ||
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| Photo © BCCI |
Virat Kohli is a calculating batsman. It shows in the way he plays pure cricketing shots and maximises their impact by picking gaps. He was furious at himself after scoring 80 in Royal Challengers Bangalore's victory two days ago because he thought he should have used 10 balls fewer. A man so meticulous insisted he never thought he would score a hundred today in their match against Gujarat Lions. But he did; his first ever in T20 cricket, achieved by hitting a wide yorker for four off the final ball of the innings. Thereafter, he wouldn't have thought his team would lose. But they did, after putting 180 on the board - a total Kohli thought was 25 runs above par.
There are not many batsmen who can go toe-to-toe with the Royal Challengers captain. He averages 110 and strikes at 141 in Twenty20s this year. So Lions had to work together, and work as perfectly as possible. The Rajkot pitch was slow and strokeplay wasn't particularly easy. With the new ball, you can always bank on runs though. Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith, who replaced Dale Steyn - belted 72 runs in the Powerplay - a record for this season - to provide a fine start to the chase.
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| Photo © BCCI |
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