Andy Flower, who coaches the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, gave an update on Virat Kohli after the star player injured his finger while trying to stop a boundary during a match against the Gujarat Titans. This happened on Wednesday in Bengaluru when Kohli tried to field a ball that was hit by Sai Sudharsan. It was the fifth delivery of the 12th over, and when Kohli reached for it at deep midwicket, the ball slipped right through his hands. As it rolled away for a four, Kohli clearly felt some pain and had to get some quick care from the team’s physiotherapist. Thankfully, he was able to carry on playing after getting treated.
After the game, which unfortunately ended in an eight-wicket loss for Bengaluru, Flower reassured fans by saying, “Virat looks fine; he’s okay.” It was a tough match for the team as Kohli’s early dismissal played a big role in their defeat. Kohli only managed to score 7 runs. He started strong by hitting a nice boundary off Mohammed Siraj but later got out trying to pull a delivery from Arshad Khan, who stepped in for Kagiso Rabada. The ball ended up being caught by Prasidh Krishna at fine leg.
Once Kohli was out, things spiraled down for Bengaluru. The rest of the top order fell quickly at the hands of the Gujarat bowlers, especially Siraj, who returned to the team after spending seven seasons with them prior to IPL 2025. Phil Salt was lucky to be dropped when he was on zero by Jos Buttler, but soon after, Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal also walked back to the dugout, leaving the score at a shaky 42/4 by the seventh over.
Salt did manage to hit a massive six off Siraj that soared a whopping 105 meters. Still, both he and Devdutt might be feeling a bit disappointed because they were trying to hit big shots to get back into the game, only to end up getting bowled out by Siraj.
The team did manage to find a bit of stability with Jitesh Sharma and Liam Livingstone adding a good 52 runs for the fifth wicket. Jitesh scored 33 off 21 balls, and Livingstone hit 54 off 40 balls, including one four and five sixes. Unfortunately, the impressive R Sai Kishore, who bowled well, broke their partnership by getting Jitesh out, who ended up popping a catch to Rahul Tewatia.
Looking ahead, Bengaluru will face the Mumbai Indians on April 7 at their home ground, and Kohli will have a few days off to rest and hopefully bounce back from his injury.
