Kohli's IPL started with a 'huge win' at home ground

• April 02, 2023

Royal Challengers Bangalore started the IPL with a win. Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli showed dominance against Mumbai Indians at home. The mood shown by the two Bengaluru batsmen to open the five-time IPL winners Mumbai also wrapped up. Bengaluru won the match by 8 wickets in response to Rohit Sharma's 171 runs.

Bengaluru dominated Mumbai from the start. With the ball in hand, Mohammad Siraj kept spinning the baton on Rohit. But Virat and Faf du Plessis went on to bat and started scoring runs quickly. No Mumbai batter was getting relief from their dominance. Duplessi scored 75 runs off 43 balls. He started to run fast. Virat opened his hand after a while. He was at the crease at the end. Virat scored 82 runs off 49 balls. Glenn Maxwell scored 12 runs off 3 balls in the last over.

Rohit's batting rested entirely on Tilak Verma. When he came out to bat, Mumbai lost Ishan Kishan, Cameron Green and skipper Rohit for 20 runs. Andhra Pradesh's left-handed all-rounder Suryakumar Yadav, however, got out before opening his hand well. However, Tilak made a partnership of 50 runs with Nehal Wadhera. Nehal scored 21 runs there.

Tim David and Hrithik Shokin also did not score much runs. Tilak, on the other hand, was not letting the run rate slow down. He was trying to keep the scoreboard moving. Tilak also had power in the pair of 47 runs with Arshad Khan. Arshad scored only 15 runs. Had to stay on one side of the wicket only. Tilak did the rest. He scored 84 runs off 46 balls. He was in the same rhythm as he was in the last IPL. This time also he was seen like that in the first match. Out of the team's 171 runs, he scored 84 runs alone. Bengaluru gave extra 11 runs. In other words, the rest of Mumbai's batters scored 76 runs.

Last time Tilak scored 481 runs in 15 matches in IPL. He had three fifties. Became the mainstay of Mumbai's lower order. Kieron Pollard has retired. Mumbai needed someone who could play big shots and also build an innings. Tilak covered the lack of Pollard in the first match. Mumbai will want Tilak to maintain his rhythm in the upcoming matches as well.

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