Published 16:04 IST, September 25th 2020
Virat Kohli berated by netizens for dropped catches that allowed KL Rahul to score ton
Virat Kohli continued his run of poor performances at the Dream11 IPL 2020, dropping 2 catches against Punjab at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Bangalore captain Virat Kohli had a poor outing in the Dream11 IPL 2020 Match 6 against Punjab on Thursday as his team was thrashed by 97 runs. Nothing went Virat Kohli's way as he dropped a couple of regulation catches of Punjab skipper KL Rahul, who was on his way to a ton. Virat Kohli's misery was further compounded when he got out for just one after facing five balls.
Virat Kohli dropped catches vs Punjab: Bangalore skipper trolled on Twitter for poor performance
Virat Kohli dropped catches vs Punjab includes his first spill, which came on the final delivery of the 17th over which was bowled by Dale Steyn. The South African speedster bowled a low full-toss which KL Rahul whipped towards midwicket. Virat Kohli quickly moved towards the right and used the reverse cup technique to catch the ball, however, the ball slumped from his hands as KL Rahul got a lifeline.
The second of Virat Kohli dropped catches vs Punjab came on the last ball of the 18th over bowled by Navdeep Saini. KL Rahul tried to hit the slower ball bowled by Saini over long-off but miscued it. Virat Kohli, who came in running, once again made a mess of it as he gave away another lifeline to the Punjab captain. KL Rahul made full use of the opportunity as he then took the Bangalore bowlers to the cleaners. KL Rahul collected 42 runs in just 9 balls to propel his side to a gigantic total of 206/3.
Twitter was abuzz after Virat Kohli dropped catches vs Punjab. A lot of reactions poured in from the cricketing fraternity. Fans took to the micro-blogging site and heavily trolled the Bangalore captain for his miserable performances. Let's take a look at a few reactions.
To make matters worse, Virat Kohli was also fined on Thursday for breach of the code of conduct after his team maintained a slow over-rate against Punjab at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Virat Kohli-led Bangalore side crumbled to a 97-run defeat at the hands of Punjab, with the skipper not having a good day on the field. The fine for maintaining slow over-rate comes as an additional blow to Virat Kohli as he was levied a ₹12 lakh fine from his match fee.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul scored 132 runs off just 69 balls at a blistering strike-rate of 191.3. The KL Rahul Dream11 IPL 2020 century was laced with 14 boundaries and seven maximums. In doing so, KL Rahul registered the highest score by an Indian in the league's history by surpassing Delhi batsman Rishabh Pant, who had scored 128* against Hyderabad in 2018.
Courtesy of the KL Rahul Dream11 IPL 2020 century, Punjab are now sitting at the top of the Dream11 IPL 2020 points table because of their superior net run rate. The KL Rahul Dream11 IPL 2020 century was a perfect example of how a T20 innings should be built. KL Rahul scored his first 30 runs in 23 balls, next 30 in 19 balls and the following 30 runs in 18 balls. The Karnataka lad scored the final 42 runs of his innings in just 9 deliveries.
Dream11 IPL 2020 points table
The KL Rahul Dream11 IPL 2020 century also made him break several records. Rahul became the player with the highest individual score as the captain of an IPL team as he went past Hyderabad skipper David Warner (126 in 2017). He also became the third player after Virender Sehwag and David Warner to score an IPL ton, both as captain and non-captain.
Enroute to the century, KL Rahul also became the quickest to reach the 2000-run mark (60 innings) in the IPL, surpassing the great Sachin Tendulkar, who took 63 innings to achieve the feat. According to the Punjab Dream11 IPL 2020 team schedule, KL Rahul's men will face Rajasthan in Match 9 of the Dream11 IPL 2020 on Sunday, September 27.
Punjab Dream11 IPL 2020 team schedule
SOURCE: IPLT20.COM
Updated 16:04 IST, September 25th 2020