IPL 2023: This is what Virat Kohli wanted to 'mention for a while'

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star Virat Kohli on Sunday revealed what he "wanted to mention" for a while now.

Playing in their first game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, RCB defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by eight wickets to record a perfect to their campaign. Kohli remained unbeaten on 82 off 49 balls as RCB chased down MI's target of 172 with 22 deliveries to spare at Chinnaswamy Stadium, where they played for the first time since 2019.

Kohli wanted to point out that RCB were third in the list of most play offs qualifications in the IPL.

"I wanted to mention this for a while - after MI who have 5 titles and CSK who have 4, if I'm not wrong, we are the third team to have qualified the most times to the playoffs - 8 times. Take one game at a time and try to be a balanced side which we are and we would look to execute our plans as we did tonight," said Kohli after RCB's win over MI.

After finishing runner-up in the 2016 season, where RCB lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final, the Bengaluru side failed to make it to the play offs in the following three seasons: 2017, 2018, and 2019. However, that changed in 2020, 2021, and 2022, where RCB crossed the league stage.

Kohli and du Plessis put up 148 runs for the opening wicket as RCB chased down MI's target of 172 in 16.2 overs on Sunday at Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Meanwhile, the latest loss to RCB marked MI's 11th consecutive defeat in their first match of the season. It was also RCB's fifth win over the five-time champions in their last six meetings in the IPL.

MI captain Rohit Sharma, who managed just a run from 10 balls, admitted that his side did not bat well despite the track being batting friendly.

"Didn't have a great start with the bat in the first six overs. But, it was a really good effort from Tilak and a few other batters. But, we didn't execute well with the ball. It was a good pitch to bat on," said Rohit.

Rohit Sharma: Tilak Verma is 'quite talented'

MI lost all three top-order batters inside the powerplay overs: Rohit, Ishan Kishan, and Cameron Green. It was Tilak Verma, whose half-century brought MI's innings back on the track. Coming in at No. 5, Verma scored an unbeaten 84 off 46 balls and he struck four sixes and nine fours. Nehal Wadhera struck two sixes and a four in his 13-ball 21. Arshad Khan also hit a six in his nine-ball 15.

Rohit heaped praise on Verma, saying the middle-order batter is "quite talented."

"He is a positive person, quite talented as well. Some of the shots he played, showed a lot of courage. Hats off to Tilak to get us to a competitive total. It was a good pitch to bat on. We didn't set any target but we didn't even bat to half of our potential and we got to 170. Probably 30-40 runs more would have been ideal.

"From the last six to eight months I am used to playing without Jasprit Bumrah. Of course this is a different setup but someone needs to put their hand up and step up. We can't keep dwelling on it. Injuries are not in our control, we can't do much about it. The other guys in the setup are quite talented as well. We need to give them that support. Just the first game of the season, there's a lot to look forward to," added Rohit.