Virat Kohli, despite scoring an unbeaten 73, felt Devdutt Padikkal deserved the Player of the Match award for his quick 61 in RCB’s win over Punjab.
Virat Kohli questioned the Player of the Match decision after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 7-wicket win over Punjab Kings on April 20. Kohli remained unbeaten on 73 off 54 balls, but credited Devdutt Padikkal’s explosive 61 off 35 deliveries for shifting the momentum.
Chasing 158 on a slow surface in Mullanpur, RCB overcame an early setback to build a strong 103-run partnership between Kohli and Padikkal. The left-hander struck 5 fours and 4 sixes before falling in the 13th over. Kohli finished the chase with support from Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma, sealing the win in 18.5 overs. Despite receiving the award, he felt Padikkal’s aggressive knock was the turning point in the match.
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“Very important game for us. 2 points can make a massive difference in terms of qualification. We have played some amazing cricket away from home. When you go from eight to ten (points), it makes a massive difference in the points table. The mindset has to be to get 2 points in every game,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation.
“I wanted to accelerate more. I thought Dev made a difference today, this award should go to him, I don’t know why they have given it to me. I try to stay there, holding one end up and try to accelerate later. There always is a temptation to keep going in the same way,” he added.
Virat Kohli Credits Team Balance for RCB’s Strong Away Run
Virat Kohli then reflected on RCB’s IPL 2025 campaign after their fifth away win, crediting team balance and clarity in roles for the strong run. He noted the importance of building key partnerships during chases and adapting to different pitch conditions.
“Last game was a shortened game, so we had to go hard (against PBKS). We had to analyse the pitch in Rajasthan. One partnership is good enough in T20 cricket during run chase. I can accelerate, but I want to understand the strengths of other players. Holding one end up at the moment, that’s working for us. It was a very good auction for us, we got a good team. These guys were composed,” he said.
“Guys like David, Jitesh, Patidar, the roles they are playing. It’s coming off nicely. Also Romario coming in for us today. Livingstone’s also there. That was missing over the last seasons. Guys can keep counter-attacking, the guys are hungry. You can see that intensity on the field as they are diving around. That is really pleasing to see. When you play like that, your chances of winning are better,” Kohli added.
Earlier, Punjab Kings managed only 157/6 in their 20 overs, with no batter crossing fifty. RCB’s disciplined bowling limited scoring through the middle overs. With this result, Bengaluru climbed to 10 points in the table.
