Virat Kohli scored an impressive unbeaten 62 runs off 45 balls, leading the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to successfully chase down 174 runs with nine wickets remaining and 15 balls to spare against the Rajasthan Royals in an IPL 2025 match at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Despite his stellar performance, the heat in Jaipur took a toll on Kohli, causing him to pause for a moment to regain his breath during the game.

This occurred in the 15th over when Kohli sprinted for a couple of runs on the fourth delivery from Wanindu Hasaranga. Once he reached the striker's end, he appeared to be struggling and asked Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson to check his heartbeat.

On the stump mic, Kohli was heard saying, "Heartbeat check karna." To which the Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper responded, "Theek hai."

After the 15th over, Kohli and RCB opted for a strategic timeout to allow the batters to recover and catch their breath.

Following the defeat to RCB, Rajasthan Royals' captain Samson acknowledged the contributions of Virat Kohli and Phil Salt for setting a strong tone during the powerplay. To give some context, Kohli and Salt teamed up to score 92 runs for the first wicket.

“We anticipated they would attack us aggressively, and I believe they secured the win during the powerplay. Hats off to RCB. The ball did behave better in the second innings. They played exceptionally well,” Samson remarked during the post-match presentation.

Kohli sets new records

In his impressive unbeaten innings of 62 runs, Virat Kohli became only the second player after David Warner to hit 100 half-centuries in all T20 matches. Warner still holds the record with 108 fifties in this format.

Phil Salt shone for RCB during the chase, scoring 65 runs off just 33 balls.

RCB's captain, Rajat Patidar, won the toss and chose to bowl first. Rajasthan managed to score 173/4 in their 20 overs, thanks in part to a solid 75-run performance from Yashasvi Jaiswal.

During the post-match presentation, Patidar expressed his excitement, saying, “It was really amazing. The bowlers executed their plans perfectly, and it was great to see. Our powerplay bowling was particularly impressive. The pitch wasn’t easy for batting, and we aimed for a target of 150-170. I draw a lot of confidence from my bowlers.”

“They’re ready to bowl on any surface and at any time, which is fantastic and boosts my confidence. I really enjoyed watching Salt bat from the dugout. His striking, along with Virat Kohli’s ability to rotate the strike, was something special. We always strive to play positive and quality cricket,” he added.

Read Also: CSK’s R Ashwin Faces Backlash After Poor IPL 2025 Performance: Calls to Bench Him Intensify

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