After Virat Kohli’s explosive half-century set the stage for the historic run-chase against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the ongoing IPL 2025 (Indian Premier League) on Tuesday, May 27, at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, the batting coach and mentor of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Dinesh Karthik, showered the legendary batsman with praise.
To place in the top two, which offers a club two chances to go to the Indian Premier League (IPL) final, RCB had to defeat LSG. Even though RCB was the favourite going into the match, LSG batted brilliantly, with Rishabh Pant finally finding his form and hitting an incredible 118* off 61 deliveries. Mitchell Marsh scored a 67 off of 37 balls before this. These two stunning knocks helped Lucknow score an incredible 227/3 in their 20 overs.
The Phil Salt-Virat Kohli combination gave RCB the explosive start they needed to sustain aspirations of chasing the enormous total. During the powerplay, they scored 61 more runs. Virat Kohli hit ten boundaries in a 30-ball fifty-four. Later, with six wickets and eight balls remaining, Jitesh Sharma, the club’s stand-in captain, led his team home with an undefeated 85 off 33 deliveries. With the help of Mayank Agarwal (41*) and Salt (30), RCB achieved their most successful run-chase in IPL history.
Kohli became the first player to score 9,000 runs for a single IPL team during his knock. Karthik gave the 36-year-old great marks for his dedication, hard effort, and desire.
“I’ll say for Virat Kohli, genius par excellence, that’s the beginning. He already averages—not averages—9000 runs over 18 seasons, or 500 runs per season. People were able to obtain those twelve seasons. Hayden has a couple more, but it’s really difficult to ask. Karthik told JioHotstar, “But for him to come churn out runs every year, have that motivation, even in warmups, the way he feels.”
Virat Kohli work ethic is praised by Karthik.
Additionally, even during training sessions, Dinesh Karthik provided insight into Virat Kohli’s work ethic. He specifically emphasised the Delhi-based batter’s unwavering zeal and desire. He disclosed that in addition to working hard during practice, Kohli still has the enthusiasm of a young child. Therefore, when it comes to encouraging young people to play cricket, Kohli has a lot to teach us.
“The speed at which the ball returns to the midfield after I hit a few balls to him shows that the man has a great deal of passion and intensity for anything he wants to do. That’s a fantastic quality for any young boy or girl who wants to play sports; forget cricket; just the passion, the hard work, the dedication, with every minute spent on the sport.” He is a living illustration of that,” Karthik said.
India
