Virat Kohli stood in as Royal Challengers Bangalore’s captain after Faf du Plessis decided to not take the field and rest in the second innings against the Lucknow Super Giants at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai on Tuesday. This was the first time since resigning after resigning from the post last year that the 33-year-old was seen leading the team on the field.
Du Plessis, who was appointed as Kohli’s successor this season, opted to rest at the start of the second inning following his electrifying 96-run knock off 64 balls. The Protea hit 11 boundaries and two maximums to help his team set a 181-run target for KL Rahul and co.
Faf du Plessis, playing his 100th IPL innings, fell four runs short of a maiden century. He was dismissed by Jason Holder in the 20th over. The former South African captain was hit by KL rahul’s throw in the middle. He looked exhausted at the fag end of his innings.
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Meanwhile, Kohli had one more forgetful evening of cricket. He was dismissed on a golden duck by Dushmantha Chameera, who also picked opener Anuj Rawat in the same over. In the former’s case, the a simple back of a length ball did the job. The former RCB captain thick-edged the ball for Deepak Hooda to take a catch at backward point.
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Virat Kohli captained the Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2013 to 2021 but midway during the last season, announced his decision to step down as skipper. He was, however, retained by the franchise. Faf du Plessis was roped in for a whopping Rs 7 crore in the IPL mega auction and named the captain.
Kohli has scored 119 runs in seven matches this season at a strike rate of 123.95. He averages 19.83 in IPL 2022, 48 against the Mumbai Indian being his highest score.
