What a comeback from the Chase Master Virat Kohli. After two consecutive ducks, Kohli responded in the most Virat Kohli fashion possible, smashing his ninth IPL century to guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a memorable chase of 193 against Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur. And in the end, Krunal Pandya's words from the previous match proved absolutely right.
RCB strengthened their position at the top of the IPL 2026 points table with a commanding six-wicket victory over KKR. After being asked to bat first, Kolkata posted a competitive 192/4, powered by a superb 71 off 46 balls from Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who anchored the innings brilliantly after a steady start.
But the night ultimately belonged to Kohli. Walking in under pressure after back-to-back ducks, the RCB superstar silenced every doubt surrounding his form with a sensational unbeaten 106 off just 60 deliveries. Kohli mixed aggression with control perfectly, chasing down the target with five balls to spare and once again proving why he is regarded as one of the greatest chasers in T20 cricket.
Interestingly, ahead of the match, Krunal Pandya had already predicted Kohli's comeback during the post-match press conference after RCB's win against Mumbai Indians. When asked about Kohli's brief dip in form after scoring only 28 runs in his previous three innings, Krunal confidently backed his teammate to bounce back strongly. “Virat Kohli is a champion player. When he fails for two games, I get more excited because I know he will come back. We are never tense about him. He is a different beast, he has a lot of hunger. From here on, I am sure Virat Kohli will do Virat Kohli things,” Krunal had said.
And Kohli delivered exactly that. After the match-winning century, Krunal Pandya once again grabbed attention on social media by sharing a post on Instagram with the caption: “I Told You So.” Krunal's confidence in Kohli's ability to respond under pressure turned out to be spot on, as the RCB superstar once again reminded the cricket world why he remains the ultimate chase master.
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