The Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL 2023 got here to an finish on Sunday after a loss to defending champions Gujarat Titans of their final league section match. Despite a report seventh IPL ton by Virat Kohli, RCB couldn’t finish on the profitable facet. After Kohli’s 61-ball 101 fashioned the bedrock of RCB’s 197-run whole batting first, GT chased down the goal in 19.1 overs. Shubman Gill‘s 52-ball 104* performed a significant half in that win. Gill’s innings consisted of eight sixes and 5 fours whereas Kohli hit 13 fours and one six. The variety of sixes was a “significant difference” between the 2 innings, in response to IPL-winning coach Tom Moody.

“He (Gill) is such a special player, he really is. We have seen in all three formats in the last 12 months. Whether it’s the IPL or in Indian colours. He is such a delight to watch. He is just so composed at the crease. You look at his facial expression, you look at his body language, he looks so much in control. He has got the game,” Tom Moody mentioned on ESPNCricinfo.

“Eight sixes! To me, that was the difference in the two hundreds. Both were brilliant hundreds. But Kohli only hit one six while Shubman Gill hit eight sixes. He ended up with a strike-rate of 200. That’s a significant difference. In a chasing situation, against a good bowling attack….hats off to him.”

Gujarat Titans received by six wickets as they, Chennai, Mumbai and Lucknow went by means of to the playoffs of the world’s greatest T20 event.

“A lot of people think that my T20 cricket is declining. I don’t feel like that at all,” Kohli mentioned afterwards. “I think I am playing my best T20 cricket again.”

That could be so, however for Kohli and Bangalore it was simply the newest IPL failure. The franchise has by no means received the title in 16 makes an attempt — they have been runners-up 3 times — for the reason that event started in 2008.

Kohli was Bangalore skipper for 9 of these seasons and on the finish of the 2021 version he determined to surrender main the crew. That was within the midst of a troublesome interval for Kohli when the magic with the bat abandoned him. In 2020 he had relinquished the Indian T20 captaincy after a disastrous World Cup and was sacked as ODI skipper. He then stop as Test captain.

With AFP inputs