Virat Kohli struck a record eighth century in the Indian Premier League (IPL), achieving the feat during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s match against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday (6 April). He previously had the record of scoring the most centuries in this competition (7), but has now bettered his own tally for the chasing pack to pursue, in the likes of Jos Buttler and KL Rahul.
Having initially struggled to accelerate against a well-drilled bowling unit of the Royals, taking 39 deliveries to get to his half-century, Kohli shifted gears in the later stages. The next 50 runs came in only 28 deliveries, as the 35-year-old got to his century in 67 deliveries. He ultimately remained unbeaten on 113 runs off 72 deliveries, guiding his team to a decent score of 183/3.
Most centuries in IPL:
Virat Kohli – 8
Chris Gayle – 6
Jos Buttler – 5
KL Rahul. Shane Watson, David Warner – 4
Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, AB de Villiers – 3
It's About Experience & Maturity: Virat Kohli
Despite Kohli scoring 103 runs and Bengaluru’s score being 107/0 after the end of 12 overs, they faltered in their bid to reach the 200-run mark yet again. However, the former RCB skipper stated that the pitch was slow, preventing him from playing aggressive cricket.
The wicket looks different from up there when you're not playing. It seems flat. But when you see it holding up in the pitch, you see the pace is slowing down. I feel this is an effective total. I was 12 of 10, I don't want to be over-aggressive. I want to keep the bowler guessing. They want me to go hard and get me out. It's just experience and maturity. I play the conditions and have the game ready.Virat Kohli
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