Virat Kohli could have done very little after making a much-awaited return to action. The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper had scored a fighting fifty on a tough pitch against Mumbai Indians in his comeback match but his effort went in vain as the two-time IPL champions ran away with all the two points.
The India skipper was on the sideline since injuring his right shoulder during the Ranchi Test against Australia in mid of March. His side was under pressure after losing two of their opening three games and Kohli’s return gave them the team the much-needed boost. The right-handed batsman totally justified the hype surrounding him as he blasted 62 from only 47 balls on a tough batting M Chinnaswamy pitch to help his team post a decent total of 142.
However, his heroic knock went in vain as Kieron Pollard played a gem of an innings to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Mumbai were reduced to 33 for 5 in the eighth over after Samuel Badree’s sensational hat-trick but Pollard scored 70 and was ably supported by Krunal Pandya as the visitors registered their third victory of the season while Bangalore suffered their third defeat.
The result was not the ideal start for Kohli in this year’s IPL but the star batsman is not paying too much heed to the result and posted a picture on Instagram on how he was doing after the match.
“An off day and watching the ipl games is always a good feeling. Recovering from soreness of playing after a month,” Kohli’s Instagram post read.
Kohli’s team will now take on Rising Pune Supergiant in their next game, also at home, on Sunday (April 16). Pune have also lost three of their opening four matches and both the team will be desperate to get back to winning ways in the upcoming match.