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Kannada actress Varsha Bollamma, in an event, has expressed her longtime desire to see superstar cricketer Virat Kohli lift the IPL trophy.
Varsha had previously confessed her celebrity crush on Kohli and how she would cut pictures of the ace batter from newspapers. Kohli has achieved nearly everything in his illustrious career except winning an IPL title with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
RCB finished sixth last year and missed the playoffs despite Kohli's outstanding performance - 639 runs at an average of 53.25 and a strike rate of 139.82.
In a viral video on social media, Varsha expressed her dream by saying:
"Virat Kohli holding that cup, that is it….I started watching IPL for him. That is my only dream, and….E sala…this time he will."
Despite the trophy evading him, Kohli is IPL's all-time leading run-scorer with 7,263 runs in 237 matches at an average of over 37, including seven centuries and 50 half-centuries.
The 35-year-old also holds the single-season record for most runs (973) in 2016, the last time RCB qualified for the final. Kohli has been with the franchise since the league's inception in 2008 and played in the grand finale thrice in 2009, 2011, and 2016.
Kohli is currently out of action and missing the ongoing India-England Test series due to the recent birth of his second child. Yet, the hosts brushed aside the English challenge in his absence to clinch the five-match series 3-1 with one game to play.
Virat Kohli's RCB will face off against MS Dhoni's CSK in the IPL 2024 opener
Coming to the 2024 IPL season, Virat Kohli's RCB will take on MS Dhoni's CSK in the season opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on March 22.
Although Kohli is no longer the RCB captain, with Faf du Plessis taking over the reins in 2022, the clash continues to be branded as the battle between two Indian stalwarts.
While the fan rivalry between the two south Indian teams has been well contested, the on-field encounters convey a different story. CSK hold a 20-10 lead in their 31 meetings with one no result. The five-time champions have never lost a game at home against RCB since 2008.
The last time the two teams met in a season opener was in 2019 when CSK romped to a convincing seven-wicket win in a low-scoring snoozefest. MS Dhoni's team are coming off their fifth IPL title in 2023, defeating the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the summit clash off the last ball.
