3 times Virat Kohli delivered when RCB needed him most

With 9230 runs in tournament history, the most by a player, Virat Kohli has a case for being the greatest batter the IPL has ever seen. The talismanic batter, plying his trade for RCB throughout, has played many vital innings when the chips were down for his team. His catalogue of brilliant knocks and feats would take a lot to rival, and despite being in positions of adversity all across the way, he has come out on top on all occasions.

Here are three iconic Virat Kohli knocks under pressure in IPL:

3) 100* (63) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, May 18, 2023

This was a do-or-die clash for RCB with their playoff hopes on the line. Electing to field first, they were made victims of a brilliant onslaught from Heinrich Klaasen, as the Sunrisers Hyderabad were taken to a competitive total of 186/5 in their 20 overs. The South African wicketkeeper batter finished unbeaten on 104 off just 51 balls in a lone effort, with Harry Brook’s 27 being the next-best score.

Under pressure and with the requirement of a net run rate boost, what followed was a masterful display from Kohli at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Stitching a 172-run opening stand with Faf du Plessis, the talismanic batter raced to what was a record-breaking sixth IPL century off just 62 balls. He fell to the next ball, but had done enough to secure RCB’s position in the chase. He scored 12 fours and hit four sixes, and he fell with the team needing just 15 runs of the final two overs.

2) 90* (52) vs Chennai Super Kings, October 10, 2020

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru took on the Chennai Super Kings in a fresh episode of their rivalry in the evening heat of Dubai on a two-paced surface. Electing to bat first, Kohli walked into bat in the third over, with the score reading 13 for 1. He took his time to adjust to the pace of the surface. He held one end as wickets around him kept falling. 

He was batting on 44 off 35 balls at the end of at the end of 16 overs. What followed in the next four overs was an onslaught, as he amassed 46 runs off the next 17 balls. Remaining unbeaten on 90 off 52 balls, Kohli had scored 50 of those runs in singles and doubles. His knock took RCB to a score of 169 for 4 in their 20 overs, a total that they defended and won by 37 runs.

1) 113 (50) vs Kings XI Punjab, May 18, 2016

If there was ever a need to emphasise what resilience on a cricket field looked like, it would be this Virat Kohli knock. 2016 was undoubtedly Kohli’s best year in the IPL, and this record-breaking knock was one of that season’s hallmarks. Coming into bat in a game reduced to 15 overs due to rain, what the M Chinnaswamy Stadium witnessed that day was nothing short of a breathtaking spectacle.

Kohli came into this clash after a split webbing which required nine stitches on his left hand. Despite the injury, he took the Kings’ bowlers all around the park and reached his century off just 47 balls. He smashed 12 fours and eight sixes as RCB scored 211 for 3 in their 15 overs, which they defended comfortably to win by 82 runs. This was Kohli’s fourth century of the season, a record that has only ever been equalled once in the IPL to date. And in typical animated fashion, Kohli celebrated the milestone by pointing to the stitches in his hand.