- Saturday, April 20, 2024
Kohli scored a hundred in RCB’s final league match against Gujarat Titans but could not prevent his side from facing a six-wicket defeat.
By: Shubham Ghosh
He has tried it as the captain and player but winning an Indian Premier League (IPL) crown has remained a dream for him. Ace batter Virat Kohli gave it all this season to see his team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lift the trophy for the first time but a defeat in the final league match against Gujarat Titans at home ground Bengaluru on Sunday (21) dashed his hopes yet again.
The 34-year-old, who slammed two back-to-back centuries in his team’s final two fixtures, including the one against the Titans by six wickets, penned a heartfelt post for the supporters after RCB’s campaign came to a premature end.
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Kohli, who scored 101 in 61 balls in the match, was visibly upset after Bangalore crashed out of the tournament. Later, he took to Instagram to write, “A season which had it’s moments but unfortunately we fell short of the goal. Disappointed but we must hold our heads high. To our loyal supporters, grateful for backing us every step of the way. A big thank you to the coaches, management and my teammates. We aim to be back stronger.”
Kohli, a former captain of RCB who chipped in as the captain in some games this season, scored 639 runs in 14 matches at an average of 53 plus and strike rate of almost 140 with two hundreds and six half-centuries. It was his second best edition in terms of runs after the 2016 season when he had belted a record 973 runs with the help of four centuries. His latest century saw him becoming the owner of most number of centuries (seven) in the IPL, eclipsing former Bangalore teammate Chris Gayle.
RCB have made the IPL finals thrice since its inception in 2008, including under Kohli’s captaincy in 2016, but failed to win a single time.
