Kohli, Rohit lead Bengaluru and Mumbai to IPL wins
Kohli scored 73 not out as Bengaluru chased down 158 to beat Punjab by seven wickets in Mullanpur. Rohit hit 76 not out in the second match of the day, helping Mumbai secure a nine-wicket win over Chennai.
Kohli hit his fourth half-century of this season and shared a 103-run partnership with Devdutt Padikkal.
VIRAT KOHLI and Rohit Sharma played unbeaten knocks to guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians to victories in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Kohli scored 73 not out as Bengaluru chased down 158 to beat Punjab Kings by seven wickets in Mullanpur. Rohit hit 76 not out in the second match of the day, helping Mumbai secure a nine-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings.
Kohli hit his fourth half-century of this season and shared a 103-run partnership with Devdutt Padikkal, who made 61, to help Bengaluru reach the target with seven balls remaining.
Rohit, playing as an impact substitute, hit his first fifty of the season. He put on 114 runs with Suryakumar Yadav, who made 68 off 30 balls, as Mumbai chased down 177 with 26 balls left.
Rohit added 63 runs with Ryan Rickelton, who scored 24 before falling to Ravindra Jadeja.
"After being here for such a long period of time, it's easy to start doubting yourself and start doing different things," Rohit said after being named player of the match.
"For me, it was important to do simple things and have a clear mindset. It was important for me to hold my shape and extend my arms, and when the ball was in my area, I had to do what I have been doing."
Rohit had scored just 82 runs in six previous innings this season. He found his timing again with his usual flicks and pulls.
He reached his half-century in 33 balls. Suryakumar got to his fifty in 26 deliveries, hitting shots behind the wicket. The pair hit 11 sixes between them.
Mumbai's bowlers had earlier kept Chennai to 176 for 5. Jasprit Bumrah took 2 for 25 and Mitchell Santner picked up 1 for 14.
Shivam Dube scored 50 and Ravindra Jadeja was unbeaten on 53. They added 79 runs for the fourth wicket. Ayush Mhatre, 17, made 32 off 15 balls after becoming the youngest debutant for Chennai.
Chennai, led by MS Dhoni after Ruturaj Gaikwad withdrew injured mid-season, have now lost six out of eight matches and are at the bottom of the table.
Bengaluru, who had lost to Punjab at home on Friday, are now level on points with them. Both teams are yet to win an IPL title.
"Very important game for us," said Kohli, who was named player of the match. "When you go from eight (points) to 10, it makes a massive difference."
Speaking about his role, Kohli said, "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."
Kohli, 36, now has four half-centuries this season and moved past David Warner for the most 50-plus scores in IPL history. He has 67 scores of 50 or more, including eight centuries.
Padikkal scored his first fifty of the season after Bengaluru lost opener Phil Salt in the first over to Arshdeep Singh.
Padikkal was dismissed by Harpreet Brar. Kohli remained unbeaten, finishing with 73 from 54 balls with seven fours and one six.
Bengaluru spinners Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma took two wickets each to help restrict Punjab to 157 for 6.
AUSTRALIAN cricket fans could be watching Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in an ODI for the last time when India tour Australia for a three-match series starting in Perth on Sunday.
Between them, Kohli, 36, and Rohit, 38, have played close to 600 one-day internationals. Both are currently active only in the 50-over format, but their future beyond this series remains uncertain.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir did not comment when asked this week whether the two senior players would continue under new ODI captain Shubman Gill, who will lead the side for the first time in Australia.
Kohli and Rohit last featured for India in the Champions Trophy final in March, when they defeated New Zealand.
If this turns out to be their final international series, the pair will play in front of large Indian-origin crowds in Perth, Adelaide (October 23), and Sydney (October 25).
Several Australian Test players, including batter Travis Head and pacers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, will use the ODI series as preparation for the upcoming Ashes.
The matches will mark Starc’s first appearance in international cricket this Australasian summer after his T20 retirement.
Marnus Labuschagne, drafted in to replace injured all-rounder Cameron Green, will look to continue his strong red-ball form in the white-ball format to strengthen his case for an Ashes recall.
Labuschagne, who was dropped from the Test squad for the West Indies tour, has returned to form with consecutive centuries in the Sheffield Shield for Queensland.
Cricket Australia said on Friday that Green had been ruled out of the ODI series due to “low grade side soreness” sustained in training and would likely return for domestic cricket.
He joins captain Pat Cummins on the sidelines, with Cummins yet to recover from lower back bone stress that could keep him out of the start of the Ashes.
Australia will also miss wicketkeeper Alex Carey for the Perth opener against India, along with spinner Adam Zampa.
Josh Philippe will take the gloves, while left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann gets a rare opportunity in Zampa’s absence.
The ODI series will be followed by a five-match T20I series starting in Canberra on October 29 as both teams prepare for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year.
By clicking the 'Subscribe’, you agree to receive our newsletter, marketing communications and industry
partners/sponsors sharing promotional product information via email and print communication from Garavi Gujarat
Publications Ltd and subsidiaries. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the
unsubscribe link in our emails. We will use your email address to personalize our communications and send you
relevant offers. Your data will be stored up to 30 days after unsubscribing.
Contact us at data@amg.biz to see how we manage and store your data.