When questions were starting to surface after two consecutive ducks, Virat Kohli produced an innings that brushed aside all talk of loss of form and reminded everyone why he remains one of the best chasers in T20 cricket.
His unbeaten 105 against Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur had all the classic Kohli features — composure, assurance and perfect pacing.
The two standout moments, though, came late in the innings: A stunning straight six off Anukul Roy that was all timing in the 17th over and a wristy whip over deep midwicket off Kartik Tyagi in the following over.
These were not wild slogs. They were the kind of shots that have defined his batting for nearly two decades. Timing over brute force. Orthodoxy over extravagance. Control over risk.
RCB were chasing 193 and top spot in the points table, and after Jacob Bethell’s early departure, the former captain settled in quickly. He rotated strike smartly, used gaps with precision, rarely looked to force anything and ensured that he kept chipping away at the target.
Strike rotation
Out of his 105, 43 runs (27 singles and eight twos) came just from running between the wickets, showing how much he focused on quick singles and twos.
The twos, especially, stood out. He clipped Sunil Narine through midwicket early on for a sharp couple. Against Cameron Green, he turned two different slower balls into doubles through wide mid-on and deep midwicket. Vaibhav Arora’s pace was used effectively, with Kohli glancing one to deep fine-leg before pushing another through midwicket and immediately calling for the second run.
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In Devdutt Padikkal, he found an able ally who was able to respond to his sharp running between the wickets, which ensured the required rate was always under control. Even late in the innings, Kohli punched Anukul Roy through extra cover and comfortably came back for two more.
IPL 2026 has been a caravan of six-hitting, and in the middle of that dominance, Kohli’s knock was a reminder that smart strike rotation and running between wickets, coupled with the timely four or six, can still decide matches. Narine and Green tried varying pace, but Kohli’s judgement of line and length ensured there were no false shots. The innings showed how Kohli still reads a chase better than most.
The hundred arrived in the 19th over with a simple push to long-off and a brief raise of the bat. There was no big celebration, with the focus firmly on finishing the chase, which RCB completed comfortably.
Even in the last phase of his innings, there was no sense of panic. He was calculative, chose his moments and ensured the chase stayed within reach until the end.
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“The celebration wasn’t a big one because we know the importance of the points right now. And yeah, look, for me, it’s a conscious effort to try and contribute to the team’s scores. And I know if I bat for long enough in the game, our chances of winning become higher,” he said after the match.
The 37-year-old also admitted that not contributing in the previous two matches had bothered him.
“The fact that I didn’t get many runs in the last two games… it eats me up in a way that I know I can play well, and I’m hitting the ball well. But then, when you don’t carry on, and you haven’t created the impact for the team, it bothers you because that’s basically been the goal all these years, trying to improve so that you can be the best version for your team when you play out there and make an impact,” he added.
Dugout calm
Kohli’s innings was important in the context of RCB’s campaign. It not only helped them get the two points but would have helped to strengthen the belief in the dugout. When Kohli bats the way he did on Wednesday, chasing scores never feels out of reach, and it keeps the dugout calm.
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The winning runs may have come from Jitesh Sharma’s bat, but the chase was anchored and the game was won by Kohli.
Ultimately, the knock showed why he remains a master chaser. Despite having won so many games in the second innings, his primary strengths remain the same: reading the situation, staying calm and knowing when to accelerate.
That balance keeps him ahead in high-pressure chases even now. It’s not about reinventing himself each match, but trusting the habits and methods built over years of winning chases. No one does that better than Kohli.
