Royal Challengers Bangalore star Virat Kohli’s poor run in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League continued on Friday, as the celebrated batter was dismissed on 20 off 14 deliveries during the game against Punjab Kings. Kohli has registered three golden ducks in this season of the tournament, and has only one half-century to his name so far. On Friday, the former RCB skipper made a strong start to his innings but was dismissed in bizarre fashion, as the ball caressed past his gloves onto the thigh pad and deflected towards fine-leg, where he was caught.
Ahead of the game, Kohli had said that he had “seen everything” when he was asked the reason behind those wry smiles after his early dismissals this season. This time, however, the legendary Indian batter looked up in frustration and seemingly uttered along the lines of “what else do you want me to do?” as he walked his way back to the dugout.
RCB eventually lost the game by 54 runs and their captain Faf du Plessis reacted to Kohli’s dismissal in the game.
“He (Kohli) is seeing the lighter side of it, every single way that you can possibly get out, is happening to him. That’s how the game works,” Du Plessis said after the match.
However, the RCB skipper made it clear that even in bad patches, one needs to keep trying which is precisely what his predecessor is doing.
“All you can do is to keep trying hard, work hard and stay positive. He played some good shots tonight, obviously would want him to carry on. Bad patches happen to all of us, he’s taken it in the right note,” said the South African.
The RCB squad plans to take a day off before its final league game on May 19 and as of now, even a win might not ensure a passage into the last four.
“Will take a day off and then see how we can switch on for a game that’s a must-win one for us. One more net session isn’t going to make you a better player, it’s about making yourselves stronger in the mind,” said du Plessis.