Royal Challengers Bengaluru talisman Virat Kohli looked in vintage touch in the nets on Thursday, March 19. Batting against RCB spinner Swapnil Singh, Kohli played some glorious lofted shots, picking up from where he had left off last season.
The senior batter, who scored 657 runs at a healthy strike rate of 144 last season, returned to India on March 18, 10 days ahead of the team’s opening game of the Indian Premier League season. RCB take on SunRisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in their first home game of the campaign.
Kohli is expected to be in focus once again as RCB look to defend the crown, their first in 18 seasons of the competition. The senior batter appeared in excellent touch in the nets, stepping down the track to attack the spinners while maintaining a solid base against all-rounders like Venkatesh Iyer.
He also had an intriguing battle against veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who fired in a searing yorker on the leg stump. Kohli, unable to bring his bat down in time, had to move his feet away to avoid being struck. The ball went on to hit one of the bats placed behind the wicket, prompting Kohli to look up at Bhuvneshwar, perhaps in amazement, as he seemed to marvel at the seamer’s continued sharpness at the age of 36.
VIRAT KOHLI’S RECENT FORM
The Indian superstar, who only plays ODI cricket for the national team was in tremendous form in the last two bilateral series. Kohli amassed three hundreds in the last two bilaterals and hit two fifties as well.
Before the New Zealand series, Kohli featured in the domestic season as well, playing two matches for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The batter hit 131 and 77 against Andhra and Gujarat respectively.
The senior player was pivotal in RCB’s success in the last season. He played with severe aggression up the order and is expected to double down on it this time as well.
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