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The news of Virat Kohli opening the innings alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Faf Du Plessis in their IPL 2022 match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Tuesday (26 April) has sent his and the team's fans in a frenzy.
RCB have dropped youngster Anuj Rawat, playing middle-order batter Rajat Patidar, and promoted the former captain from No. 3 to the top. Kohli has struggled this season, scoring just 119 runs at an average of 17.00. Du Plessis feels a promotion could 'free' the star batter up and bring out his best form.
A major share of fans on Twitter rejoiced at the announcement, with some even envisaging the much-anticipated 'comeback' after over two years of inconsistent form. While some said the decision was a long time coming, others felt it might be tricky for the 33-year-old to tackle RR's new-ball bowlers upfront.
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The following are the best of the reactions:
Kohli could form a solid opening partnership alongside Du Plessis. However, both players have shown a tendency to take time early in their innings and it will be interesting to see who plays the aggressor's role in the powerplay overs.
As for stats, the former Indian skipper has been a better opener than a No. 3 in the IPL. He has opened in 76 games, collecting 2750 runs at an average of 43.65. At No. 3 he has claimed 2815 runs at 35.19. His strike rate also goes up from 123.79 as a No. 3 batter to 136.68 as an opener.
To see list of IPL winner, click here.
"Get him into the game as quickly as possible" - Faf du Plessis explains Virat Kohli's promotion
Explaining the call, Du Plessis said the IPL team wanted to give Kohli the chance to "get into the game as quickly as possible", explaining:
"We have tried to stick as long as possible with giving guys a long run. So it's also a way for us to give Virat [chances] right at the top of the order, getting him into the game as quickly as possible, and then hopefully free him up to be the best Virat Kohli that we know."
You can catch the live proceedings of the RCB vs RR match here.
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