Virat Kohli on Saturday broke his lean patch with a hard-working 58 runs off 53 balls against Gujarat Titans at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. It was Kohli’s 43rd fifty in the Indian Premier League and his first in the current edition of the cash-rich league. Kohli hit six boundaries and a six to decorate his innings after opening the batting for RCB.

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After RCB lost captain Faf du Plessis early in the match, Kohli and Rajat Patidar shared a 99-run partnership for the second wicket. Patidar scored 52 off 32 balls. While Patidar played a quickfire knock, Kohli took time to score a 45-ball half-century.

Kohli eventually scored 58 off 53 balls. And for the first time this season, he top-scored for his team as RCB posted 171 runs target for GT. The former Indian captain was castled by Mohammed Shami in the 17th over.

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Kohli, who has been struggling to get his mojo back, played a rather slow innings but showed a sign of getting his form back, batting at a 109 strike rate.

Before this half-century, in the last five innings, Kohli has managed only one double-digit score and fell twice for a duck.  His average of 20 after 10 matches tells how deep is the problem with his batting. 

At this stage, he scored a half-century, but that old prolific Kohli was missing from the scene. His boldness and stylish cover drives and pulls were missing from his stock. This was an innings which denoted his hard work and willingness to get back to form.

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Fans applauded Kohli for getting back in form after going through one of the worst patches in his career. However, some were not impressed with Kohli’s strike rate.

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Several social media users criticised Kohli for his slow innings in a format which is known for its fast pace.