"It isn't like he had other end operating at same tempo...": Moody on Kohli's knock against KKR

MUMBAI: Following Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, former Australia cricketer Tom Moody said that the other players in RCB did not match Virat Kohli's tempo while batting. With a scintillating batting display, the Kolkata Knight Riders became the first team to win away from home in this IPL following their comprehensive seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo in a video, Moody said that no one except Cameron Green matched Virat's tempo while batting. "It is not like he had the other end operating at the same tempo as him. The only time that was happening was when Green was at the crease and that was looking really threatening. Green was striking at 150 at that point. So that looked like a 200-plus position. But then, the adjustments were made," said Moody. Former New Zealand and Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Mitchell McClenaghan lauded Virat for making adjustments in his batting according to the pitch.

"There was a period when his strike rate (Virat's SR) was coming down and it could have affected RCB in reaching a defendable total. Then you saw Virat missing a couple of balls, which is very unlike him, the wicket was getting difficult to bat on. So to make that adjustment and be able to go at the back end was good to see.

He absorbed the pressure and came out on the other side," said the former Kiwi pacer. After KKR won the toss, they opted to field. After losing skipper Faf early, Virat Kohli had a 65-run partnership with Cameron Green (33 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and a 42-run stand with Glenn Maxwell (28 in 19 balls, with three fours and a six). Virat scored 83* in 59 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes and took RCB to 182/6 along with Dinesh Karthik (20* in eight balls, with three sixes) in their 20 overs.