Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has predicted a tough outing for Virat Kohli in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Indian Premier League clash against Rajasthan Royals on April 10. Despite Kohli’s strong start to the season, Chopra believes Rajasthan Royals will rely on Sandeep Sharma to dismiss the star batter and contain the team’s opening partnership in the powerplay.
The contest gains significance with both RR and RCB sitting unbeaten at the top of the table, setting up a high-stakes encounter early in the Indian Premier League season. “Sandeep Sharma vs Virat Kohli again is a story because he doesn’t have very good numbers against him,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel. “The strike rate is decent, but the numbers aren’t excellent. He doesn’t like playing Sandeep Sharma because he doesn’t provide pace.”
The numbers underline Chopra’s assessment. In 18 innings against Sandeep, Kohli has scored 132 runs at a strike rate of 150 while being dismissed seven times, suggesting a pattern the Royals could look to exploit. With Kohli opening the batting and Sandeep likely to take the new ball, another powerplay duel between the two is on the cards. While Kohli has been in decent touch with 97 runs in two matches, Sandeep has quietly remained one of Rajasthan’s most economical and dependable bowlers despite a modest tally of three wickets so far.
KEY BATTLES ACROSS LINE-UPS
Beyond the Kohli-Sandeep face-off, Chopra highlighted several other match-ups that could shape the outcome of the contest. Rajasthan’s overseas pace duo of Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger are expected to challenge Bengaluru’s in-form batting unit with the new ball.
“Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger will ask tough questions with the new ball,” he added. “Phil Salt scored a few runs in the last match, so the focus will be on him. Devdutt Padikkal is in dream form, and most of his runs have come against Rajasthan Royals, so that will be worth watching.”
For RCB, Devdutt Padikkal has been a standout performer, smashing consecutive fifties at a strike rate exceeding 200 and emerging as the team’s leading run-scorer this season. In contrast, Phil Salt is still searching for consistency, having scored 54 runs in two innings. With multiple individual battles brewing, Friday’s clash promises to hinge on how these key players handle pressure in crucial phases of the game.
