Virat Kohli and Mohammad Kaif (IPL Photo) NEW DELHI: Two years after retiring from T20 international cricket, Virat Kohli continues to prove that he is far from ‘finished’ in the shortest format of the game. He smashed an unbeaten 69 off 38 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2026 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, leading his team to a dominant win.
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Greenstone Lobo predicts IPL 2026 winner His recent form has been excellent, with consistently high scores in white-ball cricket, leaving critics with little to say.
Kaif’s post sparks debate
After the match, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif shared a post defending Kohli and reminding fans of his strong performances. Expressing his opinion on X, he wrote: “Imagine if after two ducks in Australia they said Virat Kohli is done. His last 10 scores in white ball cricket are: 74, 135, 102, 65, 131, 77, 93, 23, 124 and 69 not out in this match.”While the report praised Kohli, many fans questioned its timing. They felt there was no need to defend him now as he was performing consistently. Some have also pointed out that the earlier criticism was mainly about his innings in Test cricket, not the limited overs formats.
Kohli leads the scripting records
Kohli also achieved major milestones during the game. He became the first player in IPL history to reach 4000 runs in chases and surpassed Shoaib Malik in the T20 run charts. He scored his 64th IPL fifty and finished the match in style.
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He was flanked by quick-strike Devdutt Padikkal as RCB chased down 203 in just 15.4 overs, raising their net-rate at the start of the tournament.
