'Can't just be strolling around': Matthew Hayden slams Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis

RCB vs PBKS: In a recent IPL 2023 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis opened the batting and put on their second 100-run partnership of the tournament. However, despite this strong start, RCB struggled to maintain the momentum towards the backend of their innings, leading to criticism from former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden, who was commentating on the match.

The opening partnership between Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis was worth 137 runs, which was their second-highest opening stand of this IPL season. However, it took them 16.1 overs to reach to this total, which put pressure on the middle order and prevented them from posting a mammoth total in the end. As a result, RCB could only manage to score 174 runs for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs, setting a target of 175 for Punjab Kings.

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'They will have to trust their long batting line-up'

Du Plessis, who was playing purely as a batter due to an injury, scored at a strike rate of 150 and performed admirably. However, it was Kohli, the captain of RCB for the match, who struggled to get going and ended up scoring just 59 runs off 47 balls, with a strike rate of only 125. Hayden slammed the opening partnership between Kohli and Du Plessis, saying that they can't just waste balls and have to trust their long batting lineup. 

"Can't waste balls, even when one of these two decides to bat till the last five overs, the other has to go, can't just be strolling around. They will have to trust their long batting line-up," Hayden said while commentating on the match.

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Virat Kohli performed well against pace, scoring at a strike rate of 165 with four boundaries and a six. However, he struggled against spin, facing nine dot balls out of 21 and scoring only 16 runs at a strike rate of 76. Despite RCB's struggles with the bat, they managed to win the match comfortably thanks to an excellent bowling performance from Mohammed Siraj. The right-arm pacer picked up four wickets for 21 runs, helping to bowl out Punjab Kings for 150 and secure a 24-run victory for RCB.

Image: BCCI