'He made a mistake there for sure' - Virender Sehwag doesn't mince words analyzing Virat Kohli's ton against RR

Virender Sehwag is someone fans associate with going hammer and tongs right from the outset, as it could be clearly seen from his strike rate in the white-ball format, striking at 104.33 and 145.38 throughout his ODI and T20I career, respectively.

In the same light, Sehwag gave his views on Virat Kohli's ton against RR. While others defended Indian and RCB's cricketing icon, Virat Kohli, for his 72-ball unbeaten 113-run knock, Sehwag didn't hold back in highlighting the sluggishness of his knock.

Even after being the first centurion in IPL 2024 on a track on which certain balls were keeping a bit low at times, Sehwag, who was speaking to Cricbuzz post the completion of the first innings, felt that RCB were 20 runs short of what they should've achieved (given the start provided by the openers, a 125-run stand for the first wicket in 14 overs). Sehwag commended Kohli's knock at first, mentioning that the likes of Dinesh Karthik never got an opportunity to be deployed, with those coming in not doing a substantial job either. However, Sehwag felt Kohli's strike rate should have definitely increased and ended up with somewhere close to 200 as his innings progressed, especially after him taking 39 deliveries to get to his half-century.

“I felt RCB scored about 20 runs less. About Virat Kohli, his knock was great, but there was nobody to support him. Karthik did not come, so there were no big hitters to accompany him, and those who came did not work. Yes, Kohli's strike rate should have definitely increased because when you score 50 in 39 balls, then you tend to score at a quicker rate thereafter. The strike rate automatically then almost touches 200. He made a mistake there for sure,” Sehwag said in mid-match show.

Also Read: IPL 2024: Virat Kohli receives 'slowest IPL ton' taunt from Junaid Khan

However, he then offered commiserations to Kohli regarding the lack of support he got from the other end, with batters like Maxwell and Green doing absolutely nothing to support Kohli, whose elemental role is to securely hold one end of the crease like an anchor, letting batters at the other end continue with their fireworks.

“But then, the rest of the batters did not do anything. The entire pressure was on Kohli. Moreover, it is his role to hold one end of the crease and allow batters on the other end to flourish, on whom RCB spent so much to acquire- Maxwell, Green,” Sehwag added.

The rest of the batters need to step up: Shami on RCB's batters barring Kohli

Being a part of the panel, Indian pace-bowling spearhead, Mohammed Shami, was in full support of Kohli, and mentioned that the stalwart has always given his all, be it for the Indian team or RCB, and putting the entire load on Kohli's shoulders wasn't a fair thing to do by the entire batting unit, who have thoroughly underperformed this season so far.

Also Read: Virat Kohli is flying but RCB not clicking as a unit: Aaron Finch

“Kohli has always performed, whether for the Indian team or RCB. But how can RCB put the entire burden on Kohli's shoulders? The rest of the batters need to step up,” said the Gujarat Titans bowler, who is not part of IPL 2024 owing to him recovering from an ankle surgery.