Tom Moody defends the slow hundred by Virat Kohli

Former Sunrisers Hyderabad Coach Tom Moody has come out in defense of Virat Kohli, stating that the RCB captain cannot carry the entire team on his own. Moody’s comments come after Kohli’s spectacular century in the match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL 2024, which ended in a losing cause for RCB.

Kohli’s innings of 113* off 72 balls was a display of pure class, including 12 fours and 4 sixes. However, RCB could only manage to score 183-3 in their 20 overs, falling short of a competitive total. Despite his brilliant century, Kohli’s knock went in vain as RR chased down the target with five balls to spare.

Speaking on ESPN’s show ‘Timeout’, Moody defended Kohli’s strike rate, emphasizing that Kohli cannot be blamed for the team’s performance.

“I don’t think his strike rate can be questioned tonight because he can’t carry the whole team, you know, he provided an outstanding century,” said Moody, who is currently the Director of Sri Lanka Cricket.

Moody also criticized the other RCB batters for not supporting Kohli effectively, leading to a below-par total. “But he was let down at the other end with people not striking at the rate that gave them a competitive score. Again, they were probably 15-20 runs short,” Moody added.

Interestingly, Kohli had the highest strike rate among all RCB batters in the match. Despite his efforts, RCB’s middle-order failed to capitalize on the strong start provided by Kohli and Faf du Plessis, who shared a 125-run opening partnership.

With this loss, RCB’s struggles in IPL 2024 continue, having won only one out of their five matches so far. Kohli, however, stands out as the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 315 runs at an average of over 100. Despite his individual brilliance, RCB’s overall performance has been lackluster, highlighting the team’s over-reliance on Kohli’s batting prowess.

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