Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bengaluru got their IPL 2024 up and running on Monday, March 25 with the star batter turning out to be the chief contributor to the victory against Punjab Kings.
Kohli scored 77 off 49 balls to help RCB chase down a 177-run target at M Chinnaswamy stadium and record their first win this season.
After losing the opener to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the Men in Red needed their talisman to rise to the occasion and ‘King Kohli’ answered the calls with a majestic fifty. Kohli’s knock was studded with 11 boundaries and 2 maximums.
The knock also brought a major milestone for Kohli, who became the first Indian player to hit 100 fifty-plus scores in T20 cricket. The Delhi dasher has 51 IPL fifties and seven centuries to his name while he has scored 37 half-centuries and 1 century in T20 international cricket. Kohli joined an elite list of batters featuring David Warner and Chris Gayle.
Kohli joined one more elusive list that features AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma, David Warner and MS Dhoni.
Kohli equals Dhoni in MoM list
Virat Kohli was awarded Man of the Match for his superb knock. His 17th MoM award in IPL history put him on level terms with Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the elite list. RCB and South Africa legend AB de Villiers sits atop the list with 25 fifties followed by ex-RCB opener Chris Gayle (22 MoM awards).
Indian skipper and Mumbai Indians legend Rohit Sharma is third on the list with 19 awards while Australian opener David Warer is fourth with 18 MoM awards. Dhoni and Kohli hold the joint-fifth position in the elusive list.
Most MoM awards in IPL
AB de Villiers – 25
Chris Gayle – 22
Rohit Sharma – 19
David Warner – 18
MS Dhoni – 17
Virat Kohli – 17
After Virat Kohli’s wicket left RCB in a precarious position, Dinesh Karthik (28 off 10 balls) and Mahipal Lomror (17 off 8) stitched an unbeaten 48-run stand to take RCB over the finishing line.