Between Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, only one team’s fortunes seem to be changing. Following back-to-back wins, MI have finally moved up from the bottom of the points table to be currently placed 7th, while there’s no end to RCB’s woes. With yet another defeat – their fifth of the season – it may already be too late for the three-time IPL finalists. Despite boasting a star-studded line-up, RCB have once again under-performed, with Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis and Mohammed Siraj blowing cold more than hot.
If there was a team whom RCB could beat to get back to winning ways, it was MI. The five-time champions, having lost their first three matches of the season, was right there for RCB’s picking, but the way they were outplayed – MI chased down 197 inside 16 overs for a commanding win. The only shining light for RCB is Virat Kohli, who leads the Orange Cap list with 319 runs including two fifties and a century. His strike-rate may have attracted attention – good or bad – but Kohli continues to do Kohli things even if it’s not enough to lift RCB out of doldrums.
Kohli was being himself during the entire course of the match. He came out in support of Hardik Pandya as the Wankhede crowd kept going after him. Even after the match, Kohli was in the picture – quite literally – as visuals of him interacting with Nita Ambani and the former MI captain Rohit Sharma got captured on the camera.
Kohli chatted with Mrs. Ambani first after the match got over and the players exchanged pleasantries. And gradually, as it was time for the post-match presentation to begin, the camera panned towards the MI dressing room where Kohli could be seen having a chat with Rohit Sharma, both wearing a serious look on their faces.
Virat Kohli’s RCB’s only shining light of IPL 2024
It could mean everything… and nothing at the same time. Kohli has been part of the RCB franchise from the very beginning. In 16 seasons, Kohli transitioned from a youngster to a modern-day great to a legend, and while his growth and that of the franchise have mirrored each other, an IPL trophy has eluded them both. Kohli has always been very vocal about not leaving RCB, insisting that he will end his IPL career, but stranger things have happened. Who would have thought Rohit would ever not captain MI? Or Chris Gayle leaving RCB?
Kohli has become synonymous with RCB. Irrespective of whether he is the captain or in the team just as a player, Kohli remains the face of the franchise. The team’s immensely popular fan base goes hand-in-hand with the legion of Kohli supporters. But even their patience with the franchise is starting to run thin. At the start of each season, the moniker ‘Ee sala Cup namde’, (This year the cup will be us) gets the team going – this year was no different with the RCB Unbox event stealing the show – but like the many season that have come before – the passion levels are taking a hit with every defeat.