Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Virat Kohli has started the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 in a commanding fashion, smashing 59 off 36 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The right-handed batter hit pacers at a strike rate of 218.75, but against spinners, he only went at 120.
Now, this isn’t a new problem for Kohli, who will be up against the likes of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmad in the game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk on March 28 (Friday). Kohli has surely improved a bit against spin in the last year, but it’s not going to be easy for him and RCB to tackle CSK’s star-studded spin attack.
"He has batted well in the recent past against spin, especially in white-ball cricket. So, I don't want to go too deep into stats. I am not very aware. But if I remember, in the (T20) World Cup finals, he got runs where it mattered. And apart from that, in the Champions Trophy, he had a good tournament second-highest run-getter (for India). And that doesn't come without playing on spin,” said RCB batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik.
"So, I believe right now, he is batting as well as he has ever done. And you speak to him even today, just now as I came out. He wanted to work on one more shot. At this point of time, to work on one more shot, tells you the hunger that he has in his mindset. He wants to just improve and keep raising the bar. So, he is a special player. And at this point of time, the way I see it, he is batting as confidently and as well as he has ever done in IPL."
The last time RCB beat CSK in Chennai was in 2008, but Karthik isn’t too worried about the past record or the Chennai spinners. "I don’t think there’s any problem. We played one match, a completely new side to what we had last year. One of the strengths, I believe, is the way we play spin. And as this tournament unfolds, you'll see it happen.
"CSK have three good spinners, no doubt. But we also have very good batters, competent batsmen, who we trust. One of the reasons why we picked them is how well they play spin. I honestly feel that the way we are structuring our team, the way we are playing, and the way we intend to play makes this game very exciting for us. As a team, we are extremely excited and confident in our abilities."