Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya (Image: Krunal Pandya/Instagram) What a comeback from chase master Virat Kohli. After two consecutive ducks, Kohli responded in the most Virat Kohli way possible, smashing his ninth IPL century to guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a memorable chase of 193 against Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur. And finally, Krunal Pandya’s words from the previous match proved to be absolutely correct.RCB cemented their position at the top of the IPL 2026 points table with a commanding six-wicket win over KKR. After being asked to bat first, Kolkata posted a competitive 192/4, powered by a superb 71 off 46 balls from Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who anchored the innings brilliantly after a steady start.
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Krunal Pandya opens the match winning game and RCB’s playoff runBut the night ultimately belonged to Kohli. Coming in under pressure after back-to-back ducks, the RCB superstar silenced all doubts about his form with a sensational unbeaten 106 off just 60 deliveries. Kohli blended aggression with control perfectly, chasing down the target with five balls to spare and proved once again why he is regarded as one of the greatest chasers in T20 cricket.Interestingly, Krunal Pandya had already predicted Kohli’s comeback before the match during the post-match press conference after RCB’s win against Mumbai Indians. When asked about Kohli’s brief dip in form after scoring just 28 runs in the previous three innings, Krunal confidently backed his teammate to bounce back.“Virat Kohli is a master player. When he fails in two matches, I am more excited because I know he will come back. We are never tense about him. He is a different animal, he is very hungry. From now on, I am sure Virat Kohli will do things with Virat Kohli,” Krunal said.And Kohli delivered exactly that.After a match-winning century, Krunal Pandya once again grabbed attention on social media by sharing a post on Instagram with the caption, ‘I told you so’. Krunal’s faith in Kohli’s ability to react under pressure proved to be well-placed as the RCB superstar once again reminded the cricketing world why he remains the ultimate master of the chase.
