Former India captain Virat Kohli has spoken out following Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) unceremonious elimination from the 16th season of the lucrative league. Kohli lamented Faf du Plessis and company’s subpar season performance. The Kohli-led team was one of the early favourites to win the prestigious competition, but they were unable to advance. 16 IPL seasons have passed since RCB last won the championship.
Gujarat Titans (GT) outplayed Bangalore in the IPL 2023’s penultimate league match on Sunday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. After RCB’s elimination from the IPL, Kohli posted an emotional message on Twitter thanking the Bangalore supporters for their unwavering support throughout the entire season. “A season that had its high points, but sadly we fell short of the mark. Although disappointed, we must maintain our composure. Thank you to all of our devoted supporters for standing by us throughout the process, Kohli wrote in a tweet.
In their final league game of the year at Bengaluru, the Bangalore Giants were given the responsibility of defeating the defending champion Gujarat Titans. In IPL 2023 match number 70, former RCB captain Kohli hit a brilliant innings against Pandya and company. The batting legend scored an outstanding century to assist Bangalore in posting a difficult total of 197-5 in 20 overs. But Kohli’s record-breaking performance was in vain when Shubman Gill-led GT thrashed RCB by 6 wickets in the high-scoring match. In the IPL 2023, Gill struck an undefeated knock of 104 off 52 balls to end RCB’s playoff aspirations.
Mumbai Indians (MI)’s (RCB) agonising loss also verified MI’s (RCB) qualification for the playoff round of the existing season. In their final league match, MI defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to clinch the fourth and final playoff position for this year. The IPL 2023’s record-breaking run-machine, Virat Kohli, collected 639 runs in 14 games. In the 16th season of the lucrative league, the 34-year-old hammered two century and six half-centuries with an average of 53.25.