Virat Kohli slammed his fifth half-century of IPL 2025 to shoot up to second position in the Orange Cap standings, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) narrowly beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday. It marked Kohli’s third half-century in four games, and has seen him rise up to 392 runs after nine matches this season. In light of his stunning form with the bat, Kohli’s former India teammate Suresh Raina has suggested that he could’ve played on till the 2026 T20 World Cup.
“Virat Kohli took an early retirement from T20Is. He could’ve easily played till 2026,” Raina said, speaking on Star Sports.
Kohli retired from T20Is following India’s triumphant T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, concluding his international career in the shortest format with a ‘Player of the Match’ performance in the final against South Africa.
During IPL 2025, Kohli surpassed 13,000 runs in T20 cricket. Kohli has been part of an RCB side that sits third in the points table, having won six of their first nine games.
Sanjay Bangar, the former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach, said the way Virat Kohli paced his composed knock of 70 propelled the side to post a total which was slightly above-par and was eventually enough to give them an 11-run win over Rajasthan Royals.
At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Kohli hit his fifth fifty of the ongoing season, while sharing a 95-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal, who also hit a half-century, to set the base for RCB posting 205/5. In reply, led by Josh Hazlewood‘s 4-33 and stifling act by spinners, RCB got their first home win of IPL 2025.
“This was typical Virat Kohli. After a couple of low scores, he returned to his default style-risk-free cricket, constructing the innings patiently. Once the game was set up, he opened up with attacking shots.”
“The key was how he handled the first 7-8 overs and gave assurance not just to his partner, but also to the dugout. The way he paced the innings helped RCB post a slightly above-par total,” said Bangar on JioStar.
Bangar, who also served as India’s batting coach, also pointed to key tactical errors and reckless shot selection which led to RR imploding in a run-chase for the third straight time. “Things look really bad for Rajasthan at the moment, and they have only themselves to blame for this loss. They failed to seize key moments-both while batting and bowling.”
With IANS inputs
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