Aaron Finch has come to Virat Kohli’s defence regarding Kohli’s fifty against SRH and urged people not to judge the innings in isolation. Kohli started strong, scoring 32 runs off 18 balls in the powerplay overs. However, his scoring rate slowed after the fielding restrictions were lifted, managing just 19 more runs from his successive 25 balls before being dismissed. Meanwhile, Rajat Patidar produced a brilliant half-century to power RCB to 206 runs for their full 20 overs.

Though RCB won the match by 35 runs, Kohli’s innings drew criticism from fans and Sunil Gavaskar during the mid-innings break for its lack of intent. However, Finch defended Kohli’s knock in an interview with Star Sports, explaining why the RCB star may have dialed back his aggression.

Former Australian captain Aaron Finch praised Rajat Patidar’s explosive batting and said Patidar deserved most of the strike. Finch added that the set batter, Virat Kohli, also looked to bat deep into the innings.

“Patidar’s blistering innings impacted Kohli’s approach. Kohli started aggressively but then lowered the pace after the powerplay to keep Patidar on strike. With Patidar hitting boundaries freely, Kohli likely focused on rotating the strike rather than attacking himself,” commented Finch.

The former Australian captain said that Kohli’s knock perfectly complemented the partnership between him and Patidar, as Kohli did the strategic thing by getting the aggressive Patidar on strike frequently.

“Though his strike rate declined, Kohli made the strategic decision to keep Patidar on strike. Rajat’s aggressive approach that powered score. By maintaining the momentum despite his individual slowdown, Kohli got his partner firing, a pivotal move for the team’s success,” he added.

In the second innings, the SRH batters struggled to get going, further underscoring the significance of Kohli’s knock earlier in the game.

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