IPL 2023: “Virat Kohli Will Have to Take Responsibility to Keep RCB Up”- Harbhajan Singh Feels Virat-Faf Partnership Is Key for RCB

IPL 2023: Royal Challengers Bangalore is the only team to qualify for the playoffs in the last three IPL seasons. On the other hand, their performance in the ongoing 16th edition is also quite decent. RCB is currently ranked 5th on the table with four wins out of seven games. They are with 8 points and an NRR of -0.008. RCB will now face the two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. 

Both teams played a game before in this season where KKR won by 81 runs. However, RCB is coming off two consecutive wins and will look to make the hat-trick of wins. All the eyes will be on RCB stand-in skipper Virat Kohli, who registered a golden duck in the last against RR. Trent Boult dismissed him on the first ball of the match. Thus, it will be an important match for him to score some runs.

IPL 2023: “Virat Kohli will have to take the responsibility”- Harbhajan Singh

Virat is the fifth-highest run-getter in the competition. He has scored 279 runs in seven innings at an average of 46.50 and a strike rate of 141.62. The stand-in captain has also scored four half-centuries in this competition. Apart from Virat, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell have done the bulk of the scoring for the team.

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh reckons that Virat needs to take more responsibility if RCB wants to go further in the competition. In a discussion on Star Sports, he said, “Virat Kohli will have to take the responsibility to keep RCB up. His partnership with Faf will be crucial. Virat and Faf are in good form, and this will always give relief to RCB.”

Du Plessis is currently the “Purple Cap” holder. He has scored 405 runs in seven innings at an impressive average and strike rate of 67.50 and 165.31 with 25 sixes. Meanwhile, Maxwell has made 253 runs at 36.29 and a staggering strike rate of 188.81 with 23 sixes. RCB’s top order is probably the main strength of the team. But RCB needs to win a few games with a big margin to improve the NRR. Because it seems that at last, it will come down to a better NRR.