IPL 2024 opener: Virat Kohli scores just 20 but achieves massive feat

THE 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) started with a bang on Friday (22) and ace Indian batter Virat Kohli achieved a massive feat on the opening day. Opening for his franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) against defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, he scored only 21 runs off 20 balls but those runs saw him becoming the first Indian batter to complete 12,000 runs in T20s.

The 35-year-old reached the elite club comprising names such as Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard of the West Indies, Shoaib Malik of Pakistan, Alex Hales of England and David Warner of Australia with the 'Universe Boss' Gayle leading the chart with 14,562 runs. Kohli achieved the feat in his 377th T20 match and 360th innings. He is also the highest scorer in IPL with more than 7,000 runs.

Kohli was playing a competitive game after more than two months since he skipped the five-match Test series against England played between January-March as his actor Anushka Sharma gave birth to their second child in London. The veteran batter was hitting the ball well and hit one six but his stay at the wicket was cut short by Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman. A superb effort at the boundary line by Ajinkya Rahane and debutant Rachin Ravindra saw Kohli returning to the pavilion in the 12th over, leaving his side reeling at 77 for 4.

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However, Kohli had given the RCB a brisk start with captain Faf du Plessis, who won the toss and elected to bat, by putting 41 runs in just over four overs but lost a few quick wickets in the middle overs.

Bengaluru finished on 173 for 6 in 20 overs, thanks to a 95-run partnership for the sixth wicket between wicket-keeper-batter Anuj Rawat (48) and Dinesh Karthik (38 not out), also a wicket-keeper-batter but playing the game as a batter.

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Rahman was the pick of the CSK bowlers with four wickets for 29 runs in allotted four overs.

Mo Bobat, RCB's director of cricket, who has been closely watching Kohli during the team's training, had said that the batter was hitting the ball superbly.

"Virat's in a good place. We all know he's an absolute champion cricketer. So he's at a stage of his career, in a stage of his experience now, where most of what he does is pretty hardwired into him. He's coming in fresh, which is what we're excited about," Bobat had said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the opening clash.

"Kohli has had a good bit of time off from his cricket. He's in a great frame of mind. He's had good family time, he's fresh with his energy and he's looking forward to getting involved. He's had a few hits with us over the last few days and he's hitting the ball brilliantly," he added.

The current edition of the IPL is crucial for Kohli to get selected for the India squad that would head to the West Indies and the US for the T20 World Cup in June this year.

(With agency inputs)