It was Kohli’s seventh hundred in IPL, making him the batter with most hundreds in the league’s history. The RCB opener surpassed West Indies great Chris Gayle‘s record of six IPL hundreds in Bengaluru, after equalling the record in his previous match against Sunrisers Hyderabad last Thursday.
Kohli also became only the third batter to score back-to-back hundreds in IPL — 101* vs GT & 100 vs SRH, joining the elite list comprising Shikhar Dhawan, for Delhi Capitals in 2020, and Jos Buttler, who did it for Rajasthan Royals last season.
Kohli completed the record ton with a single off the first delivery of the last over, bowled by GT pacer Mohit Sharma. There was little to no celebration from the master batter after the milestone, but the fans including wife Anushka Sharma looked thrilled in the stands.
Kohli’s record-breaking feat, which included one six and 13 fours, helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post a challenging 197 for 5 against table-toppers Gujarat Titans, which turned out to be not enough in the end. Riding on sensational hundred from Shubman Gill (104* off 52; 8x6s, 5x4s), GT chased down the target in 19.1 overs with six wickets in hand. With the defeat, RCB were eliminated from the season, finishing sixth in the final league standings with 14 points.
“We would have taken that [the total of 197/5] with both hands once we were five wickets down. We pretty much pulled things back towards the end. Close to 200 is a winnable score for me. It’s upon the bowlers to execute,” Kohli said while speaking to broadcasters in mid-innings.
Kohli also emphasised that he felt really good about his T20 game and is always on the look-out to rise up to the situations as a batter.
“I felt great. Lot of people think that my T20 cricket is declining, I don’t think so. I look to hit gaps and then the big ones towards the end. You have to read situations and rise up to the situations. I feel really good with my game at the moment. Spin wasn’t easy to get away with. There’s enough on this pitch for our bowlers. What matters is to stay in the present. I wasn’t focusing on the rain, focused on what I need to do for the team,” Kohli added.
The final league game of the season at M Chinnaswamy Stadium had a delayed start due to rain, and hosts RCB were sent in to bat first by GT skipper Hardik Pandya, who won the toss.
