Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting coach Dinesh Karthik has showered praise on star batter Virat Kohli following the victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR). Karthik stated that it’s tough to be consistent for 18 years, adding that it takes determination to maintain such a level of performance in the IPL.
Virat Kohli scored 70 off 42 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, in Match 42 of IPL 2025 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday, April 24. He helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru post a challenging total of 206. The right-handed batter seemed headed for a century but was dismissed by Jofra Archer.
It’s a Different Thing to Be Consistent for 18 Years – Dinesh Karthik
In a video shared by RCB on X (formerly known as Twitter), Dinesh Karthik spoke about Virat Kohli’s remarkable consistency in the IPL over 18 years. Karthik also mentioned that Kohli admitted he could have made better decisions after his early games in Bengaluru.
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“It’s one thing to play IPL for 18 years, but it’s a different thing to be consistent for 18 years. It just tells you a lot about the man. And he was very determined. He just felt the first three games in Bangalore. He told me two things,” Karthik said.
“One, that probably he could have thought a little better. And B, he felt the fans, the way he looks at it. He knows that a lot of the people turn up just to watch him play. So you can see, even though he didn’t say it explicitly, he felt that,” he added.
“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘐𝘗𝘓 𝘧𝘰𝘳 18 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 18 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵.”👌
Dinesh Karthik is in awe of Virat’s cricketing brain,… pic.twitter.com/ImxYmPUcvM
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) April 25, 2025
That Man Puts His Mind to Something – Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik said that Virat Kohli can focus and adapt to different situations. He stated that Kohli guided younger teammates like Devdutt Padikkal and helped Phil Salt settle in early. Karthik described him as a true champion who leads by example.
“That man puts his mind to something, the way he adapts, understands situations. I’m too small a person to even speak about it. He’s an absolute champion. Just the way he went about it. Also guiding Dev [Devdutt Padikkal] along the way. Making sure it took Salt along at the start. His body language, his commitment to a cause. Outstanding,” Karthik concluded.
Virat Kohli Moves to Second Place on Orange Cap List in IPL 2025
Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal added 95 runs for the second wicket. Padikkal scored 50 runs off 27 balls, including four boundaries and three sixes, at a strike rate of 185.19. Middle-order batters Tim David (23 off 15) and Jitesh Sharma (20* off 10) contributed with valuable cameos in the final overs.
Kohli expressed his happiness at RCB’s first home victory of IPL 2025, praising the fans for making Bengaluru the best place to play cricket. He is currently second on the Orange Cap list with 392 runs in nine matches at an average of 65.33, including five fifties. Notably, he was the leading run-scorer in IPL 2024.
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