Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has taken a dig at Virat Kohli after the RCB vs MI IPL 2025 match. RCB beat MI by 12 runs in the high-scoring encounter. That was the third win for RCB in four games.
RCB's batting might was on display in that game, led by Virat Kohli's 67 runs. He scored 67 runs off 42 balls at a strike rate of 160. He had a crucial 91-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal (37 runs off 22 balls) that laid the platform for RCB's big total.
Skipper Rajat Patidar (64 runs off 32 balls) and Jitesh Sharma (40* runs off 19 balls) then scored crucial runs in the backend to propel RCB to a mammoth total.
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Virat Kohli Was At His Best 5-6 Years Ago: Sanjay Manjrekar
Mumbai Indians fell short by just 12 runs in the chase, finishing on 209 runs for nine wickets in their 20 overs. Tilak Varma (56 runs off 29 balls) after retiring out in the previous game. Meanwhile, MI lost yet another game in the chase with skipper Hardik Pandya (42 runs off 15 balls) failing to lead his team over the line.
Kohli vs Bumrah In IPL Over The Years
Year | Runs | Balls | Outs | Dots | 4s | 6s | SR | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 240.0 | 12.0 |
2014 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | - |
2015 | 31 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 163.2 | - |
2016 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 150.0 | - |
2017 | 20 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 166.7 | - |
2018 | 28 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 133.3 | - |
2019 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 216.7 | 13.0 |
2020 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 | 3.0 |
2021 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 183.3 | 11.0 |
2022 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 175.0 | - |
2024 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Total | 140 | 95 | 5 | 36 | 15 | 5 | 147.4 | 28.0 |
Before the game, Sanjay Manjrekar and Navjot Singh Sidhu got into a war of words on the Virat Kohli vs Jasprit Bumrah face-off. Bumrah has dismissed Kohli five times in the IPL. Kohli, on the other hand, has scored 140 runs off 95 balls against the MI pacer at a strike rate of 147.40. Despite Kohli having decent numbers against Bumrah, Sanjay Manjrekar felt that Kohli is well past his prime. Bumrah made a return to the IPL against RCB and played his first game this season.
“Virat Kohli was the best 5-6 years ago. Bumrah is at his peak. So, Bumrah’s stock is up there. Virat’s stock used to be there. So at this moment it is not best vs best," Manjrekar remarked.
Meanwhile, some Kohli and RCB fans were irked by Manjrekar's comments. One of them took to Twitter to share Kohli's stats since 2022 in IPL and international cricket.
Former Indian opener Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was also a part of that discussion on Star Sports, differed from Manjrekar's comments. He said that Kohli is still the focal point and the main attraction in the IPL.
"It is not possible for the focal point to shift away from Virat Kohli. It is my opinion. Last time when my friend called me up I asked him ‘how was the match yesterday?’ to which he responded by saying ‘Virat Kohli got out, I switched off the match’." This is what he has earned. When I used to visit the village, there was a person who used to ask me ‘What game do you play?’ I responded by saying I play cricket" Sidhu added.
Virat Kohli will turn up for RCB on Thursday, April 10 when they take on the Delhi Capitals at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.
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