Virat Kohli finally returned to form as he scored his first half-century of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. Coming out to open, Kohli brought up his half-century off 45 balls against Gujarat Titans at the Brabourne Stadium. Previous to this game, Kohli had recorded scores of 0,0 and 9 but the batter showed his class against the Hardik Pandya-led side. In the very first over bowled by Mohammed Shami, Kohli hit a straight drive and then a flick off the pads for back-to-back boundaries.
Since then, Kohli’s confidence was there for everyone to see and in the end, he completed his half-century in 45 deliveries. After reaching the landmark, Kohli raised his bat to acknowledge the crowd. Kohli’s wife Anushka Sharma, who is also in attendance for the match, was seen cheering him on when the RCB batter brought up the landmark.
Social media erupted after Kohli reached his half-century, with the likes of Wasim Jaffer, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh all praising the former India skipper.
4️⃣3️⃣rd #IPL half-century for Virat Kohli! ????
That bat raise is things we absolutely love to see! ❤️#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2022 #Mission2022 #RCB #ನಮ್ಮRCB #GTvRCB pic.twitter.com/DpbWTC6SKT
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 30, 2022
Welcome back @imVkohli ???????? #GTvRCB #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/fJ44Zb1K3v
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) April 30, 2022
50 up for my brother @imVkohli!! Keep going, champ! #IPL2022 #RCBvsGT
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 30, 2022
King Kohli with a fifty in 45 balls, his first of IPL 2022 and 43rd overall.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 30, 2022
First fifty for King Kohli in #IPL2022 – 50* from 45 balls including 5 fours and 1 six. The King is back. pic.twitter.com/EZsymC7FZ1
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 30, 2022
Kohli hits a six and Anushka Sharma’s reaction as a proper fan girl ???????? pic.twitter.com/ZBx6eoMF7g
— Akshat (@AkshatOM10) April 30, 2022
Kohli was eventually bowled by a Mohammed Shami yorker for 58 off 53 deliveries.
Earlier, former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri had suggested Kohli to take a break as he looks “overcooked”. Kohli started the season batting at No.3 for RCB, but in the previous clash against Rajasthan Royals, Kohli came out to open alongside skipper Faf du Plessis.
Promoted
Talking about international games, Kohli last scored a ton against Bangladesh in 2019 during a day-night Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata and ever since then, the three-figure mark has eluded him.
Kohli stepped down as India’s T20I skipper last year and then he was removed as the ODI captain after selectors wanted just one captain for both white-ball formats. After the series loss against South Africa this year, Kohli stepped down as Test captain as well.
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