Virat Kohli Shines with Century as RCB Triumphs Over KKR
Krunal Pandya's Prediction Comes True
In a remarkable turn of events, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Krunal Pandya's earlier prediction was validated when star batsman Virat Kohli scored a stunning century against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Raipur on Wednesday. This performance marked a significant comeback for Kohli, who had faced two consecutive ducks in prior matches.
'I Told You So'
After the game, Krunal shared a photo with Kohli, both forming the number '100' with their hands. In his Instagram caption, he referenced his earlier comments made during a post-match press conference following a victory over the Mumbai Indians (MI), where he expressed excitement about Kohli's potential comeback after a couple of failures. "I told you so," he wrote, accompanied by a cold-face emoji and a king's crown.
Following Kohli's second consecutive duck against MI, Krunal had expressed his unwavering support for the "champion player" during the press conference, stating, "Virat Kohli is a champion player. When he fails for two games, I get more excited because I know he will come back. We are never tense about him. He is a different beast, he has a lot of hunger. From here on, I am sure Virat Kohli will do Virat Kohli things."
Kohli's Record-Breaking Performance
In this match, Kohli achieved several milestones, becoming the fastest player to reach 14,000 T20 runs, the first Indian to hit 10 T20 centuries, and tying with Jos Buttler for the most IPL centuries during a run chase, with three to his name. It’s evident that Krunal's predictions were spot on for this game.
Kohli has made significant progress in the IPL 2026 run charts, now sitting in third place in the Orange Cap race with 484 runs from 12 innings, boasting an impressive average of 53.77 and a strike rate of 165.75, which includes one century and three fifties.
Match Overview
In the match, RCB won the toss and chose to bowl first, restricting KKR to 48/2 early on. Notable contributions from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (71* off 46 balls, including seven fours and three sixes) and Rinku Singh (49* off 32 balls, with three fours and two sixes) propelled KKR to a total of 192/4 in their 20 overs. Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar each claimed a wicket.
During the chase, Kohli lost his opening partner, Jacob Bethell (15), early on, but a solid 92-run partnership with Devdutt Padikkal (39 off 27 balls, featuring seven fours) kept RCB ahead of the required run rate. Ultimately, Kohli led RCB to victory, chasing down the target in 19.1 overs with six wickets remaining.
With this win, RCB climbed back to the top of the table, achieving eight victories and four losses, totaling 16 points. Conversely, KKR, which had been on a four-match unbeaten streak after a series of six winless matches (five losses and one no result), now faces a critical situation for their playoff aspirations, making their final three matches crucial.