Kohli’s Ninth IPL Ton Lifts RCB to Top of the Table

Virat Kohli silenced his critics in style. After scoring ducks in his last two innings, the RCB star smashed a brilliant unbeaten 105 to guide his team to a six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur.

This was Kohli’s ninth IPL hundred and his third while chasing a target. His knock helped RCB chase down KKR’s 192 with five balls to spare. The win pushed the defending champions back to the top of the points table with 16 points. In a 10-team IPL, no team with 16 points has ever missed the playoffs.

For KKR, this loss was a big blow. They were on a four-match winning streak. Now, even if they win all their remaining three games, they can only reach 15 points. Their playoff hopes now depend on other results.

How the match unfolded?

KKR started strong. Angkrish Raghuvanshi played a brilliant knock of 71 runs from 46 balls. Rinku Singh stayed unbeaten on 49 from 29 balls. Together, they helped KKR post 192 for 4 in their 20 overs.

But Kohli had other plans. He took charge from the very start. After surviving a dropped catch on 21, he never looked back. He found boundaries with ease and kept RCB ahead of the required run rate. He got good support from Devdutt Padikkal, who made 39 runs.

The pair added 92 runs together. Once Padikkal fell, Kohli finished the job himself. He reached his hundred off the 58th ball he faced. It was a chase masterclass from one of the best in the business.

What’s next?

RCB will now travel to Dharamsala to face Punjab Kings on Sunday. KKR will head back home to take on Gujarat Titans on Saturday.

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 192/4 (Raghuvanshi 71, Rinku 49) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 194/4 (Kohli 105, Padikkal 39; Tyagi 3-32) by 6 wickets.

                                               

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