It was vintage Virat – Dinesh Karthik on Virat Kohli’s early fireworks against GT
Despite RCB's batting unit falling short against GT in Ahmedabad, a couple of standout knocks occurred on the night. Virat Kohli got off to a rambunctious start, smashing 28 off just 13 balls while Devdutt Padikkal kept his calm and played an incredible knock of 40 from just 24 balls despite the growing pressure from the GT bowlers.
Speaking in a video recorded post-match, Dinesh Karthik, RCB’s batting coach and mentor, said that there were traces of vintage Virat Kohli in what was otherwise a struggle for the batting unit. He also lauded RCB’s overall bowling effort that took the game to its edge despite limited runs on the board.
Shedding light on Virat’s knock, DK said, “I thought Virat started wonderfully. It was vintage Virat, the kind of shots that he played, especially the Rabada over, was outstanding. But we lost wickets in a cluster and we kept doing it.”
Adding further about what went against the Royal Challengers, DK added, “Every time we had an opportunity to probably get ahead, whatever partnership we lost the wicket, and that never helps in a T20 game. And eventually it caught up with us and we got below par score.”
He concluded by heaping praise on the RCB bowling unit, stating, “What was commendable to see was again the attitude, the bowling coming together, and like a champion team would, it gave them jitters through the middle. If you'd got a couple of things going away, God knows how it would have gone, but very proud of the effort and the attitude of the boys.”
