Virat Kohli and Mohammad Kaif (IPL Photo)
New Delhi: Two years after his retirement from international T20 cricket, Virat Kohli continues to prove that he is far from ‘done’ in the shortest format of the game. In the opening match of IPL 2026 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, he smashed an unbeaten 69 off 38 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, leading his side to a dominant win.
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His recent form has been impressive, with consistently high scores in white-ball cricket, leaving detractors with little to say.
Kaif’s post sparks controversy
After the match, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif shared a post defending Kohli and reminding fans of his strong performance. Expressing his opinion on
While the message praised Kohli, many fans questioned its timing. They felt that there was no need to defend him now that he was performing constantly. Some also pointed out that the previous criticism was mostly about his struggles in Test cricket, rather than the limited-overs formats.
Kohli keeps scripting records
Kohli also reached major milestones during the game. He became the first player in IPL history to score 4000 runs in chases and surpassed Shoaib Malik in the T20 run charts. He scored his 64th goal in the Indian Super League and finished the match in style.Alongside him, Devdutt Padikkal played a quick knock as RCB chased down 203 in just 15.4, boosting his net run rate early in the tournament.