"Sachin Tendulkar used to do that" - Irfan Pathan on Virat Kohli attacking Jofra Archer in RCB's IPL 2023 win against MI

Irfan Pathan has lauded Virat Kohli for batting aggressively against Jofra Archer in the Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) IPL 2023 win against the Mumbai Indians (MI).

Rohit Sharma and Co. set a 172-run target for RCB after being asked to bat first at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, April 2. Kohli then smashed an unbeaten 82 off just 49 balls to take his side to a convincing eight-wicket win with 22 deliveries to spare.

During a post-match discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was asked about his thoughts on Virat Kohli taking on the best bowler in the opposition lineup in the form of Archer just like he did against Haris Rauf at the T20 World Cup, to which he responded:

"Great players do that. Sachin Tendulkar used to do that. He used to target the big bowlers in the opposition team, whether it was Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne, we have seen that repeatedly. Virat Kohli is also a player of the same stature. So he says that he will try to do even better when confronted with a challenge."

The former Indian all-rounder pointed out that barring a dropped return catch off Jofra Archer's first ball, Kohli came up trumps in the battle between the two stalwarts, elaborating:

"I was personally excited to watch the face-off between Jofra Archer and Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli won that contest this time. There was a chance on the first ball but after that, he didn't look behind. Only Jofra Archer was turning back as the ball was going beyond the boundary line."

Archer grassed an offering from Kohli on his follow-through when the batter was on seven. The former RCB skipper then dominated the England seamer, smashing two fours and as many sixes off his bowling.

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"He has moved forward leaving all that behind" - Irfan Pathan on Virat Kohli's struggles in IPL 2022

Virat Kohli struck six fours and five sixes during his innings. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Irfan Pathan pointed out that Kohli bounced back brilliantly after an indifferent run in last season's IPL, stating:

"He is India's huge superstar and he is shining now. He struggled last year. Everyone had empathy for him that he was not scoring runs, getting run out, not hitting the ball well, but he has moved forward leaving all that behind."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by observing that Kohli being back among the runs would have delighted all cricket fans, saying:

"He has scored runs at an average of 70 in T20 cricket between last year and this year. He has added a century as well and he will maintain that form in this IPL for RCB. There cannot be any bigger news, not only for RCB but for IPL and cricket fans."

Kohli strung together a 148-run opening-wicket partnership with Faf du Plessis to virtually end the match as a contest. The RCB skipper was awarded the Player of the Match for his 43-ball 73.