'He just seemed to have lost touch' - Sunil Gavaskar slams Virat Kohli for sluggish knock against SRH

Star batter Virat Kohli was once again ready for a masterclass when Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) took on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, April 25.

After RCB captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bat first, Kohli took on the SRH bowlers and gave a solid start. Scoring 32 runs off just 18 balls in the powerplay, it seemed like the former RCB skipper was gearing up for a big one.

However, Kohli appeared to get trapped against SRH's spin duo of Shahbaz Ahmed and Mayank Markande. The runs dried up and Kohli managed just 19 runs off his next 25 deliveries before being dismissed by Jaydev Unadkat for a 43-ball 51 in the 15th over.

Kohli's inability to kick on and accelerate in the middle overs drew sharp criticism from legendary former India opener Sunil Gavaskar.

“In the middle, he just seemed to have lost touch. I am not sure of the exact numbers, but I think from 31-32 to the time he got out, he did not hit a boundary. So at the end of the day, when he got out when you are facing the strike in the first ball of the innings and you get out in the 14th or the 15th over, you have got strike rate of 118, that's not what your team expects from you,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports.

Also read: Faf du Plessis jokes after ending six-game losing streak in IPL 2024

Virat Kohli probably needed to do that: Simon Katich

The little master wasn't alone in his assessment. Former Australia cricketer Simon Katich felt Kohli's knock came at a huge cost for the Bengaluru-based franchise, who were looking to capitalize on a solid start and post a total of over 220 against the dangerous SRH batting line-up.

“Yeah, there is no doubt he lost impetus. I think Rajat Patidar played beautifully, and he was the one who was trying to hit the fours and sixes. Virat Kohli probably needed to do that. I think that the sub-120 strike rate probably cost RCB 220-plus against Sunrisers. Against SRH, 206 on the board, might not be enough,” Katich said.

Also Read: Rinku Singh gets another bat from Virat Kohli

Thanks to a match-winning knock of 20-ball 50 from Rajat Patidar, RCB managed to post 206/7 on the board, as the visiting side managed to restrict SRH 35 runs short of the target during the chase. Though Kohli has failed to accelerate his innings in the last few games, he still sits at the top of the highest run-scorers list in IPL 2024 with 430 runs.

RCB is currently languishing at the bottom of the table with four points. Bengaluru will now fly to Ahmedabad to face Gujarat Titans in their next fixture on Sunday, April 28.