Bengaluru’s crowd-favourite Virat Kohli has come under criticism by cricket enthusiasts on social media, who claim that the batter played a slow innings in his side’s clash against Kolkata in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on March 29. Kohli played a phenomenal innings with the bat, which saw him score an unbeaten 83 runs off 59 balls, helping his side set a 183-run target for Kolkata to chase. Despite boasting an impressive strike rate of 140.68, fans have questioned whether the iconic batter should’ve been explosive from the very start.

Upon Kolkata winning the toss and electing to bowl first, it was Kohli who took charge of the run flow for Bengaluru. An early dismissal of Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis on 8 (6) brought the majority of the pressure on Kohli, who switched to a more controlled style of play. Cameron Green coming in to bat at No.3, built a much-needed 65-run partnership with Kohli, which was then followed by an explosive cameo by Glen Maxwell with his 28 off 19 balls innings.

IPL 2024, RCB vs KKR: Highlights

Since the end of Bengaluru’s innings with the bat, social media got flooded with posts slamming Kohli for his innings.

With this victory, Kolkata have now stretched their unbeaten streak at the M Chinnaswamy stadium to 6 games, sinec their very first win in 2016. Kolkatra are also tyhe first away team to mark a victory in the ongoing IPL 2024 season.

Bengaluru will be looking to bounce back from this defeat against their long-rivals, and shift their focus to their next game against Lucknow on April 2. The clash will feature Kohli facing off against another iconic India batter, KL Rahul.