Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star all-rounder backed batting great Virat Kohli after he got out on a duck for the second consecutive time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Kohli, who entered the IPL with all guns blazing, shocked fans after he was dismissed on golden ducks in his last two outings against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI).
Why Krunal more excited after Kohli's two ducks in IPL 2026?
However, Kohli has overall scored 379 runs from 11 innings at an average of 42.11 and a strike rate of over 163, including three half-centuries. After RCB's tense win against MI, Krunal issued a clarification that the RCB dressing room is confident that Kohli will again start firing runs in the tournament. The Baroda-born all-rounder also admitted that a player of Kohli's stature knows how to get motivated from setbacks and return stronger.
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“Virat Kohli is a champion player. When he fails for two games, I get more excited because I know he will come back. We are never tense about him. He is a different beast, he has a lot of hunger. From here on, I am sure Virat Kohli will do Virat Kohli things," he said.
Kohli's Unwanted Record after two ducks dismissals in IPL 2026
Notably, this is the second time that Kohli has registered ducks in successive innings. The first came back in the 2022 season against LSG and Sunrisers Hyderabad. This was the third time that Kohli got out without scoring a single run against the Mumbai Indians (MI).
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Most ducks for Virat Kohli against an IPL opponent
3 vs Mumbai Indians.
3 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
2 vs Lucknow Super Giants.
RCB vs MI match summary
Coming back to the match, after being asked to bat, MI were 28/3 in three overs. Naman Dhir (47) and Tilak Varma (57) added 82 off 57 balls to shift the momentum of the game, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar's four-wicket haul restricted them to 166 for seven.
While chasing, RCB were off to a poor start, but Krunal Pandya made a fighting 46-ball 73. After that, RCB needed 15 from the last six balls. Bhuvneshwar Kumar then blasted a six before Rasikh Salam Dar knocked off the winning runs. With that defeat, MI are knocked out of the playoffs race.