Head coach provides crucial update on Virat Kohli after superstar hurts finger in RCB vs GT IPL 2025 clash

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach Andy Flower has assured that Virat Kohli is not dealing with an injury after being struck on the hand while fielding during the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT). The ace fielder hurt his finger in an attempt to stop the ball by the boundary line at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, April 2.

Kohli did not set the stage on fire in RCB's first home game of the season. He began with an imperious cover drive off Mohammed Siraj after Shubman Gill elected to bowl first. However, the ace batter was dismissed in the second over of the innings by Arshad Khan for just seven runs off six balls.

RCB recovered in the second half of the innings to post a competitive target of 170. GT's dominant top-order again made a strong start, and RCB could not find a way to crawl their way back into the contest.

During the 12th over of the run chase, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler took on Krunal Pandya to advance towards the target. The left-handed batter played a sweep shot off the fifth delivery towards deep mid-wicket where Kohli was stationed. However, the star player could not gather the ball and clutched his hand immediately as the misfield resulted in a boundary.

“Virat looks fine, he’s okay,” RCB head coach Andy Flower said during the post-match press conference (via India Today).

Physios attended to Kohli's injury on the field, leading to a slight stop in the play. GT continued to operate in cruise mode after the brief halt. Although the visitors lost Sai Sudharsan (49) in the next over, Buttler (73*) saw the team through with 13 balls to spare.

"Often if you lose powerplay, you are in trouble" - Andy Flower reflects on RCB's eight-wicket loss to GT in IPL 2025

RCB's 100 percent record in the early stages of the IPL 2025 was threatened straightaway after GT pacers wreaked early havoc. The top-order was dismantled, courtesy of Mohammed Siraj's scathing spell of 3/19 on his former home ground. The Rajat Patidar-led side were reeling at 42-4 in the seventh over before Jitesh Sharma (33) and Liam Livingstone's (54) knocks drove them to a decent total (169/8).

“We lost some wickets trying to be aggressive in the powerplay; that was obviously a big swing in the game. Often if you lose powerplay, you are in trouble. We had to fight hard, thought we scrapped really hard after the powerplay. Tim David, Jitesh and Livingstone did well to give us a total we could challenge them,” Flower said in the same interview.

RCB will next face the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, April 7.