New Delhi [India], April 13 (ANI): Former India spinner Piyush Chawla hailed stalwart Virat Kohli after he pulled off another chase masterclass to steer Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a commanding 9-wicket triumph against Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Sunday.
Virat played the anchor role for the Royal Challengers during their pursuit of a competitive 174-run target. While Salt went berserk at one end with his explosive 65 from 33 deliveries, Virat maintained his composure to keep the scoreboard ticking with his commanding strike rotation.
By the time Salt returned to the dressing room, the equation had come down to 83 off 68 balls. Chawla believes Salt’s belligerent batting display eased the route for Virat and Bengaluru.
“That’s how he is, isn’t it? And that’s why we put him at the top of the list of white-ball cricketers. Just because of this reason. When he goes out there, he makes things look so easy,” Chawla said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut.
“This was a perfect platform for Virat Kohli. He is getting runs this season. He has started so well. And when you are chasing 173-odd runs, and you get that kind of a start with Phil Salt doing what he does best, you know that Virat Kohli will go not out for sure,” he added.
Former India batter Wasim Jaffer believes Virat has broadened his repertoire of shots and now possesses a game that can be implemented in all situations. The expanded and wide variety of shots reflect how Virat deals with the spinners. Recently, he has danced out of the crease often to nullify their threat.
“He has got a game for all situations. Today, we saw him step out and hit sixes. Sometimes, we didn’t see that before. But now he does that, he uses the slog sweep as well,” Jaffer said.
En route to victory, Virat joined the former flamboyant Australian opener for the record in the 15th over after dispatching the ball past the boundary rope to register his 100th fifty in the T20s.
He put on his dancing shoes and took the aerial route by converting the in-drifter into half volley to loft the ball handsomely over long-on for a maximum.
“He is a master. He has got 100-plus fifties in T20s also. Hell of a numbers. I don’t think we should be talking about him, he is such a great player,” he added. (ANI)
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