New Delhi: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had contrasting outings during the IPL 2023 match on Friday between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. While MI captain Rohit’s IPL rut continued getting out for 1 off 10 balls, Kohli enjoyed an explosive start to the season cracking an unbeaten 82 to guide RCB to a comprehensive 8-wicket win. Kohli smashed the 50th IPL half-century of his career to join en elite list and put behind the ghosts of IPL 2022 in style. Kohli and Faf du Plessis’ half-century gave RCB a roaring start in chase of MI’s 172-run target and the team chased it down in just 16.2 overs to send MI and the rest of the IPL teams a strong statement.
But while Kohli flourished, Rohit struggled and this once again led to a Twitter war between the fans of the two stalwarts of Indian cricket. Rohit was trolled for being unfit as he looked woefully out of touch during his 10-ball stay. He was beaten outside off, for pace and even had a catch dropped of him before finally edging one to Dinesh Karthik. Later, when Kohli walked out to bat and his batting looked nothing like Rohit, the IPL sent out a poll, which stated: “Who will score more runs this IPL – Kohli or Rohit”
It did not take long for the public to come to a verdict as they sided with Kohli with 67 percent, while Rohit received just 33. This further fuelled the debate between the two on social media. While the Kohli vs Rohit debate gained steam on the internet, former India coach Ravi Shastri, on commentary duties gave his two cents on the topic and addressed the burning Kohli vs Rohit in IPL 2023 topic.
“The fact that he has to bat long and deep will allow him to get those volume of runs. On the other hand, with Rohit Sharma, you will see some short bursts, some match-winning bursts but in terms of volume, Virat will get a lot of runs this season,” he said on air.
Both Kohli and Rohit will have a point to prove in this edition of the IPL. Their fate in the Indian T20I setup all but sealed, Kohli, opening the innings, showed just how good he can be when in full flow. Struggling for form throughout last year, Kohli endured three first-ball ducks, and despite scoring a couple of fifties, lacked fluency. This year, if the opening fixture from last evening is any indication, expect a rip-roaring season from Kohli, who still holds the record for most runs in a single edition of the IPL with 973 runs.
Rohit on the other hand, seems to be having a tougher job among the two. He went the whole of IPL 2022 without scoring a single half-century and began this year without much difference. Furthermore, under Rohit’s captaincy, this is the 11th straight IPL season opener that MI have lost and although they have won five titles while being stuck in this pattern, both Rohit and MI would want to snap out of it.
Agencies

KR Desk