2 min readUpdated: May 13, 2026 11:14 AM IST
Virat Kohli had been consistently among the runs for much of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season until the last couple of matches, in which the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) veteran fell for ducks. He first fell for a two-ball duck in RCB’s match against Lucknow Super Giants and then for a golden duck in Raipur against Mumbai Indians. Now, RCB are set to face Kolkata Knight Riders in their second home match in Raipur and Kohli is hoping to avoid a hat-trick of ducks.
Naturally, KKR’s assistant coach Shane Watson is hoping for the opposite. “Every team has plans against Virat Kohli because he’s one of the best players in the world. But the challenge is that he knows exactly how to counter those plans as well,” Watson told reporters on the eve of the match.
“We’re hoping he might play an aggressive shot early like he did in the last game, although the chances of that are probably remote because Virat is so disciplined. He’s extraordinary. His hunger to be the best and his intensity on every single ball are still burning very brightly. We know we need to be switched on from ball one because he’s someone who can set up a match incredibly well for his team,” Watson added.
Before the two ducks, Kohli scored a 13-ball 28 against Gujarat Titans and an unbeaten 23 in 15 balls in RCB’s thumping nine-wicket win over Delhi Capitals before that, thus making it four innings now in which he has not been able to score a half-century. Before this run, Kohli was constantly inside the top five of the Orange Cap table this season.
The 37-year-old former India captain retired from T20Is after powering India to victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, making the IPL the only tournament in which he still plays the shortest format of the game. Kohli has scored 379 runs thus far this season in 11 innings at a strike rate of 163.36 and average of 42.11 with three-half centuries.
