When his team is chasing 214, you don't expect to see the run-machine aka Kohli batting on 40 at a strike rate of 111.11 in the 13th over. But, as he explained after the game, the RCB captain had given up on the chase, as too many wickets had fallen, and was trying to ensure they didn't fall too far behind on net run-rate. In 10 completed seasons of the IPL, teams have missed making the final four because of net run-rate as much as four times. So clearly Virat Kohli knows what he's talking about this statement.
From Mumbai Indians, the young leg-spinner Mayank Markande also played a part in keeping Kohli quiet, conceding just 15 runs off 14 balls, including five dots and one six. And it wasn't like Kohli was just blocking him. He played just one defensive stroke, but could not find the gaps with his drives and cuts as Markande showed off his variations and accuracy. He started quickly, racing to 18 off 11 balls, but once Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers fell in the same over, he knuckled down and tried to avoid a huge loss. He got going again towards the end and finished with a healthy strike rate of 148.38. With Royal Challengers reaching 167, they stayed ahead of bottom-dwellers Delhi Daredevils on the points table.
