Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma grabbed a sensational catch to get the better of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) stand-in skipper, Virat Kohli in the crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match on Thursday at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium on Mohali. Kohli scored back-to-back half-centuries centuries in IPL 2023 as he scored a sensible 59 runs off 47 balls against PBKS.
It was a special match for the 34-year-old as he returned as RCB captain due to Faf du Plessis’ fitness concerns. However, Kohli failed to convert his half-century into a big score. It was his fourth IPL century this season so far. It was the first ball of the 17th over as Harpreet Brar pitched it outside leg and Kohli aimed to play a cute shot towards fine leg but only managed to get an edge on it. Wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma was very attentive and grabbed a stunning diving catch to end Kohli’s stay in the middle.
Here is the video of the catch from Jitesh Sharma:
Harpreet Brar strikes twice ⚡️⚡️
He gets Virat Kohli & Glenn Maxwell back to back!
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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 20, 2023
The stand-in RCB captain hit five fours and a six during his 47-ball stay in the middle. Kohli played his last game as captain for RCB way back in IPL 2021 Eliminator match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), however, his side ended up on the losing side.
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He relinquished the RCB captaincy after IPL 2021 as the franchise signed Faf in the 2022 mega auction to take over the charge of the unit. In his first season at RCB, Du Plessis led them to the playoffs.
As quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Virat Kohli revealed that Du Plessis would be playing as an Impact Player as he couldn’t take the field due to his rib injury suffered during the match against CSK. The star batter said RCB weren’t disappointed despite losing the toss as they wanted to bat first in the clash.
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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)Explaining the same, Virat Kohli said, “Faf potentially can’t be fielding today, so he’ll be playing as a impact player, switching with Vyshak. We got to do what we wanted, we would have batted first, the pitch could get slow, some scruff marks will help the bowlers going deep into the game. Taking one game at a time, focussing on our own game, make the most of crunch situations, we haven’t gone that so far in the tournament. No other changes for us.”
