Virat Kohli is not just a chaser but also a “grandmaster” of chasing targets, feels former Indian cricketer Murali Kartik. The spinner’s reaction comes after Royal Challengers Bengaluru hammered SunRisers Hyderabad in the opening match of the 2026 Indian Premier League season at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, March 28.
On Saturday, RCB chased down the 202-run target set by SRH in just 15.4 overs. Kohli remained unbeaten in the chase and anchored the innings with a 38-ball, 69-run knock. He hit five fours and five sixes in the innings and helped RCB open their campaign in brilliant fashion.
Read the full article
| RCB vs SRH: Scorecard – Highlights |
Reacting to the innings on Cricbuzz, former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan said that Kohli’s ability to score fifties in the Indian Premier League so consistently allows others to play with more effort.
According to Zaheer, RCB’s other batsmen have the license to bat at high pace and take risks because they know Kohli will remain steady at the other end, that too at a high strike rate of 170-180.
“I think RCB and Virat will be very happy for batting through the chase. Kohli was batting 180 SR, others around him were batting 220-250 SR. It just shows the kind of power that RCB have. The players around him are able to bat freely because they know they will get a fifty more often at a very high strike rate from him after the match. Khan allows others to bat more from him.
“Devdutt Padikkal has given a teaser for the season. Rajat Patidar won’t let the momentum drop in the middle overs and that gives us an idea of the brand of cricket RCB is trying to play. And Virat Kohli is a very important cog for RCB in this round,” concluded Zaheer.
‘VIRAT KOHLI IS THE GRAND MASTER OF CHASING’
Murali Kartik picked up on Zaheer’s comments and said that it is simply not possible to achieve the kind of consistency that Kohli has achieved when it comes to chasing runs successfully in the Indian Premier League.
Kohli has over 4000 IPL runs, which is almost half of the runs he has scored in the history of the tournament. In his last 33 IPL innings, Kohli has 16 fifty-plus scores, signifying the incredible consistency he has maintained over the past two seasons.
Kartik touted Kohli as a “grandmaster” in chases, comparing him to elite chess players who are able to see five to ten moves ahead in a game.
“Virat Kohli is a master chaser. He plans for wins. He knows when to step on the pedal and when to take his foot off. It’s unbelievable, seriously, and he’s been doing it for so many years. Teams have had to fly hard against him, but he’s so sharp that they just can’t contain him,” Murali Kartik added to Zaheer’s observations.
RCB started their season in a tremendous way by using their batting prowess against SRH. The team will be among the favorites to win the tournament this season.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
29 March 2026 10:52 IST
