Royal Challengers Bengaluru took the field in the final of the Indian Premier League 2025 against the Punjab Kings after three previous failed attempts at the trophy.
Just like the team, the former RCB skipper, Virat Kohli, also came out to bat in his fourth final after they were asked to bat first by Shreyas Iyer.
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However, with stakes high in the game, Kohli seemed to have disappointed a lot of people with his batting — especially the approach that he took to get to his 43 runs, taking 35 balls after opening the batting.
As the Royal Challengers ended up posting a rather underwhelming 190 run total on the board, the former India all-rounder, Irfan Pathan, tweeted out his disappointment from the innings. See what he had to say.
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Irfan Pathan takes a dig at Virat Kohli for a 35-ball-43 in the IPL final
The former India fast bowler, who was recently taken off the duties from the commentary box in the IPL, thought Kohli should have scored at a greater rate, considering the number of balls he had faced in the final.
He pointed out the short and slow ball tactic from PBKS that worked to the T for them.
"They kept bowling short and slow balls to Virat Kohli. Strike rate of 123 after 35 balls on this pitch is disappointing," wrote the former all-rounder.
Check out Pathan's tweet below:
They kept bowling short and slow balls to Virat Kohli. Strike rate of 123 after 35 balls on this pitch is disappointing.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) June 3, 2025