Virat Kohli speaks about bond with Rohit Sharma ahead of MI vs RCB clash
Mumbai: Ahead of the IPL 2025 clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, RCB star batter Virat Kohli opened up about his long-standing bond with Rohit Sharma. Despite past media rumours of a rift between the two, Kohli reaffirmed the mutual respect and strong professional relationship they share.
In a conversation on the RCB channel, Kohli said, “Playing alongside someone for such a long time naturally leads to a strong bond, especially when you share so much of your understanding of the game. In the early years, we were constantly learning from each other and growing in our careers simultaneously.”
He further added that over the years, they had built trust and often found themselves on the same page while making decisions in leadership roles. “Reflecting on our long careers, we are both grateful and proud of the journey we've shared. The consistency and memories we’ve built together have been incredibly fulfilling,” he said.
Kohli and Rohit have played crucial roles in Indian cricket’s success over the past 15 years. While rumours of discord often emerged, both have consistently denied them and maintained professionalism on and off the field.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians will aim to register their second win of the season as they host RCB at the Wankhede Stadium. Led by Hardik Pandya, MI have so far won just one out of their four matches, while RCB have two victories in three games.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐-๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐! ๐ซ
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) April 6, 2025
Virat Kohli talks about his equation with Rohit Sharma, and how they’ve bonded over the years and created some wonderful memories! โจ
We’re just a day away from seeing them go up against each other, and we wish them well! ๐๐#PlayBold #เฒจเฒฎเณเฒฎRCB… pic.twitter.com/I6GHFHxgEx
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi''s third-fastest IPL ton propels RR to 228/6 against SRH
Jaipur (PTI): Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (103) went hammer and tongs for the third fastest hundred in IPL history off 36 balls, powering Rajasthan Royals to a huge 228 for six against Sunrisers Hyderabad, in an IPL match here on Saturday.
Sooryavanshi made SRH pay a heavy price for an early reprieve when he was on 32 to notch up his second hundred in the league and first of the season, which followed three whirlwind fifties earlier.
The 15-year-old once again displayed his rich repertoire of strokes executed with brute force and timing, as Rajasthan played their first match of the season here at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. He used the long handle to maximum effect to clobber 12 sixes as against five fours in his 37-ball 103.
He brought up his ton with a six off Sakib Hussain (1/62) on his 36th delivery, recording the third fastest century in the IPL after his own 35-ball hundred last year and Chris Gayle’s 30-ball ton for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in April 2013.
Sooryavanshi was off the blocks quickly when he smacked Praful Hinge (1/49) for two sixes on the on side and two down the wicket on the final four balls of the opening over, making a rapid start and didn’t look back.
An on-song Sooryavanshi rarely missed a freebie to punish as he garnered runs on both the sides of the wicket while putting on two robust stands at the top to continue RR’s charge.
His rapid start helped in adding 40 runs off only 14 balls for the opening wicket while he consolidated for RR with a 112-run stand for the second wicket with Dhruv Jurel, who chipped in with a 35-ball 51 with eight fours and two sixes.
Sooryavanshi's charge ended immediately after completing his ton when he missed a scoop off Hussain and was pinned in front of the stumps for a leg-before.
Meanwhile, Jurel was also lucky twice as Hussain could not hold on to two tough return chances in his follow-through.
Even as SRH managed to get the rid of the dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) early, they erred when the opportunity was created by Eshan Malinga (2/38) in the fifth over to remove Sooryavanshi.
On a length ball, Sooryavanshi looked to heave it to the on-side but mistimed it. Aniket Reddy covered some distance at deep midwicket on his right but the ball popped out of his hands for a costly drop.
Sooryavanshi went on to complete his fifty off 15 balls with a six in the sixth over from Hussain.
RR's innings was also spruced up by Donovan Ferreira's late 16-ball 33, studded with three sixes and as many fours.
Amid the charge from RR batters, SRH had their regular skipper Pat Cummins returning with impressive numbers of 4-0-27-1 with his solitary wicket being that of his counterpart Riyan Parag (7).
