Virat Kohli has completed 15 years with Royal Challengers Bangalore© BCCI
Star batter Virat Kohli can also be called a synonym of Royal Challengers Bangalore as he has completed 15 years with the Indian Premier League franchise. Beginning his IPL career with its inauguration in 2008, Kohli has seen many ups and downs with the teams and emerged as the most prolific player of the franchise. The 34-year-old batter led RCB from 2013 to 2021, before Faf du Plessis took over the reins in 2022. For the past 15 years, Kohli has helped RCB claim historic wins on numerous occasions with his powerful batting performance and amazing leadership skills.
To celebrate Kohli’s magnificent 15 years with RCB, Star Sports did a special segment where many former cricketers spoke about their favourite moment of Kohli with the franchise. Former India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar recalled the 2016 rain-curtailed match between RCB and Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab), where Kohli played with stitches on his fingers and still smashed a century off just 50 balls.
“I remember a match, probably that was against Kings XI Punjab, where he played with stitches in hand and got a 100 in a 15-over match. That is phenomenal,” said Bangar.
During the match, RCB batted first after rain interrupted the game and the play was reduced to 15 overs per side. Former West Indies batter Chris Gayle and Kohli stitched a massive 146-run partnership and guided their side to a huge total of 211/3 in 15 overs.
In reply, PBKS could not even inch closer to the target as they were restricted to 120/9, despite a quick knock of 24 off 10 balls by Wriddhiman Saha. In the end, RCB won the match by 82 runs (DLS).
In the upcoming edition of IPL, defending champions Gujarat Titans will be going up against Chennai Super Kings in the season opener on Friday, at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
RCB will be opening their campaign against Mumbai Indians on Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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