Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Virat Kohli after Royal Challengers Bengaluru registered a 11-run win against Rajasthan Royals at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Thursday. Batting first, Virat Kohli got off to another steady start and scored a crucial knock of 70 runs off 42 balls.
The veteran batter scored eight fours and two sixes as he scored his runs at a strike rate of 166.67. Devdutt Padikkal also scored 50 runs off 27 balls and added 95 runs for the second wicket with Kohli. Thus, the duo played a key role in helping RCB post 205 runs on the board.
Kohli has been in great form in the ongoing season, scoring 392 runs in nine matches at an average of 65.33 and a strike rate of 144.12. The veteran is currently the second-highest run-getter in the tournament.
Chopra hailed Kohli’s consistency in the ongoing season as this was his fifth fifty of IPL 2025.
“Virat Kohli is consistently scoring runs. This was probably his fifth fifty of the season, and he is looking good for many, many more. He is batting extremely well. You might say I don’t praise Virat Kohli much. Virat Kohli is the Reserve Bank. He keeps printing notes every time,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator said it is imperative for other RCB batters to bat around Virat Kohli and deliver consistently.
“The problem was never about Virat Kohli. This franchise’s future and present will be decided by what people around him do. He has made the present by asking them to keep players around him who can drive the game fast, as he is dependable, the run machine, and the modern master. I thought a hundred was loading, but not to be, and it didn’t make a difference,” he observed.
On the other hand, Devdutt Padikkal also continued his rich form, completing his fifty off just 26 balls.
“Devdutt Padikkal has come as a breath of fresh air. He is batting extremely well. He has sworn that he will bat well only for this franchise and not for any of the others because he went to the Rajasthan Royals and the Lucknow Super Giants, and didn’t score runs there,” he said.
“He has returned here and scored runs again. He used to score runs when he played here last time. A lot of runs were scored in the middle overs, they were scoring at almost 11 runs per over, and Devdutt Padikkal had taken the onus to score those runs. He was moving at the rate of knots,” Chopra observed.
Padikkal has scored 230 runs in eight matches of IPL 2025 at an average of 32.86 and a strike rate of 156.46.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next take on Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Sunday.
