It was complete carnage in Hyderabad when Royal Challengers Bangalore took on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday. Virat Kohli was at his vintage best and smashed his sixth IPL hundred, taking RCB home. This win has certainly given two important points to RCB, and they have made a big jump on the points table.
It was a must-win clash for Bangalore to stay relevant in the race for the playoffs. They needed a win, and Virat, along with skipper Faf du Plessis, led the team to a splendid victory. SRH posted a challenging score of 186/5 on the board.
However, both Virat and Faf made a mockery of the target with a record-breaking opening stand of 172 runs, and RCB chased down the target with eight wickets in hand. Virat made 100 off 63, with 12 fours and four sixes, while Du Plessis made a 47-ball 71, with seven fours and two sixes.
Many former cricketers, current players, and cricket pundits lauded RCB and Virat for their incredible performances. Even senior journalist Rajat Sharma was up for it and congratulated Virat on his century and also took a dig at LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir.
Notably, both Rajat and Gambhir were involved in a social media spat after the heated altercation between Virat and LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, along with mentor Gambhir, in Lucknow. Rajat tweeted, “Magnificent 100 by Virat. It was a delight to watch. Of course, somebody somewhere may not be happy.”
Earlier, Gambhir posted a cryptic message on Twitter, taking a dig at the journalist and calling him “egoistic and arrogant”. Gambhir tweeted, “Man who ran away from Delhi Cricket citing “pressure” seems over eager to sell paid PR as concern for cricket! यही कलयुग़ है जहां ‘भगोड़े’ अपनी ‘अदालत’ चलाते हैं।”
Speaking of the game, SRH wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen also smashed his maiden IPL ton in the first inning. He hit the second-fastest IPL hundred for SRH off 49 balls and made 104 off 51. With this win, RCB has moved into fourth place with 14 points on the table.