"He must have thought it was a six-over game" - Former India batter's blunt claim on Virat Kohli's failure in RCB vs PBKS IPL 2025 match

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif said that Virat Kohli resorted to slogging from the word go during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) five-wicket loss to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, April 19. The ace batter departed after scoring only one run off three deliveries, before being dismissed by Arshdeep Singh in the third over of the innings.

RCB were put into bat first in the 14-over contest after a delayed start due to rain. The hosts were put under early pressure as Arshdeep Singh struck in the first over to dismiss Phil Salt. The batters struggled on a two-paced wicket that also sported steep bounce. Under the pressure to capitalise on a shortened powerplay, Kohli decided to take on Arshdeep Singh after only two runs came off the first three balls.

The right-handed batter tried to execute a pull shot against a rising delivery, but did not get the cleanest of connections to either clear the boundary or evade the man at mid on. Marco Jansen ran backwards to complete a solid catch, reducing RCB to 21-2.

Mohammad Kaif opined that Kohli could have afforded to take some time to settle down, read the conditions, before taking the aggressive option.

"84 deliveries in an innings means that there is time. The shot that Virat Kohli hit, stepping forward, trying to strike a six, he usually does not do all of this. If it was a 20-over game, Kohli would have looked to punch that ball, I can tell you that with guarantee," Kaif said on Star Sports.

"That was a ball meant to be punched through point. But because it was a 14-over game, there was the temptation to play a much more attacking brand of cricket. The pitch was damp, the ball was stopping a bit. This was a pitch where he should have taken five or six balls to have a look in. Not only Kohli, but the other batters as well. So, he should have spent some time in the middle, 14 overs is a lot, he must have thought it was a six-over game," he added.

Several RCB batters perished while trying to take on the bowler and play across the line. They were reduced to 46-8 at one stage, before Tim David rescued the side with an unbeaten fifty to take the total to 95-9. Despite a spirited display by the bowlers, the target proved to be insufficient as PBKS won with 11 balls to spare.

Virat Kohli has scored only 30 runs in three home matches for RCB in IPL 2025

RCB's home form has been dismal in IPL 2025 so far, with three losses in three outings. Much like the franchise, Virat Kohli also has not fared well at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The opening batter has scored 30 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 130.43.

He scored a promising cameo of 22 runs off 14 deliveries against the Delhi Capitals (DC). His other two outings have seen him return only single-digit scores against the Gujarat Titans (GT) and Punjab Kings (PBKS).