In a masterclass of composure and tactical nous, Virat Kohli once again proved why he is one of white-ball cricket’s greatest chasers. On Sunday night, he steered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a thrilling six-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals, lifting them to the top of the IPL 2025 points table.
Chasing 163, RCB found themselves in early trouble at 26 for 3, after Joseph Bathell (12), Devdutt Padikkal (0), and Rajat Patidar (6) fell cheaply. But Kohli, as so often, stood firm. Teaming up with Krunal Pandya, he rebuilt the innings brick by brick, forming a crucial century partnership that eventually sealed the win.
This was a top win, especially looking at the surface. Whenever there's a chase on, I keep checking with the dugout — are we on course, what’s my role, what kind of innings do I need to play?
Pandya, promoted up the order, delivered a counter-attacking gem, smashing an unbeaten 73 off 47 balls with five fours and four sixes. Together, the pair stitched 119 runs for the fourth wicket, steadying the ship before accelerating to take RCB to 14 points from 10 matches.
People are forgetting the importance of partnerships or going deep into the innings in T20s. This year, you're seeing you can't just come out and tee off from ball one. You need professionalism — read the situation, get into a position to dominate.
Kohli was lavish in his praise for Pandya, who had earlier bowled a superb spell to help restrict Delhi Capitals
"Krunal was outstanding today with the bat. We were just waiting for him to come into this tournament with the bat as well — and today was his day completely," said Kohli. "We've communicated beautifully. Krunal kept telling me to stay while he took his chances."
The 36-year-old also offered insight into his methodical approach to chases. "I look at the total, the conditions, the bowlers who are due. I make sure my singles and doubles don’t stop, and I look for the odd boundary so the game doesn’t get stagnant," he explained.
Pandya, meanwhile, credited Kohli for his encouragement during a scratchy start. "My first 20 balls were quite scratchy but Virat kept pushing me — 'You'll do it,'" Pandya revealed. "It made a big difference having him at the other end."
Kohli also underlined the importance of RCB’s power-hitters further down the order. "We have that extra firepower with Tim David and Jitesh Sharma, and now Romario as well," he said. "I don't have to go berserk from ball one anymore."
RCB’s bowlers, too, drew high praise from Kohli for stifling a strong Capitals batting line-up. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3 for 33) and Josh Hazlewood (2 for 36) led the charge, supported by Krunal’s clever spell.
Hazlewood and Bhuvi are world-class, there’s a reason Josh has the Purple Cap. Krunal varied his pace beautifully. Suyash has been the dark horse for us, always attacking.
Earlier, Delhi got off to a decent start with a 33-run opening stand between Abhishek Porel (28) and Faf du Plessis (22), but RCB’s bowlers never allowed partnerships to flourish. KL Rahul top-scored with 41 off 39 balls, but his dismissal by Bhuvneshwar sparked a collapse. Tristan Stubbs (34) showed glimpses of a fight, but it wasn’t enough as DC finished on 162/8.
"I feel like we were 10-15 runs short," Axar said. "Our intent was there, but the wicket was two-paced. Maybe if one batter had stayed longer, it would have been better."
Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 162/8 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 41, Tristan Stubbs 34; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-33, Josh Hazlewood 2-36) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 165/4 in 18.3 overs (Krunal Pandya 73, Virat Kohli 51; Axar Patel 2-19, Dushmantha Chameera 1-24) by six wickets.
