IPL: Virat Kohli effortlessly takes down spinners in RCB nets, avoids crushing yorker
India Today
IPL: RCB talisman Virat Kohli has started training at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Ahead of the IPL opener, Kohli was seen in some solid touch in the RCB nets.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru talisman Virat Kohli looked in vintage touch in the nets on Thursday, March 19. Batting against RCB spinner Swapnil Singh, Kohli played some glorious lofted shots, picking up from where he had left off last season.
The senior batter, who scored 657 runs at a healthy strike rate of 144 last season, returned to India on March 18, 10 days ahead of the team's opening game of the Indian Premier League season. RCB take on SunRisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in their first home game of the campaign.
Virat Kohli practice session highlights of day 1Batted against Swapnil and VenkyPlayed spin a lot some range hittingThat sound of the bat ??#RCB #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/O1AGQU7zMy— Santoshvk18 (@269signofff) March 18, 2026
Kohli is expected to be in focus once again as RCB look to defend the crown, their first in 18 seasons of the competition. The senior batter appeared in excellent touch in the nets, stepping down the track to attack the spinners while maintaining a solid base against all-rounders like Venkatesh Iyer.
He also had an intriguing battle against veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who fired in a searing yorker on the leg stump. Kohli, unable to bring his bat down in time, had to move his feet away to avoid being struck. The ball went on to hit one of the bats placed behind the wicket, prompting Kohli to look up at Bhuvneshwar, perhaps in amazement, as he seemed to marvel at the seamer’s continued sharpness at the age of 36.
This yorker from Bhuvneshwar Kumar completely beat Virat Kohli.??In the last two years, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s name has gone a bit down, but maybe in this IPL he will definitely do something special.?? pic.twitter.com/L0bF9BsR0Z— ??????????????45 (@rushiii_12) March 19, 2026
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