Ahmedabad: Virat Kohli reacted in awe after Will Jacks hit Rashid Khan for four huge sixes in the 16th over to bring up the latter’s maiden IPL hundred as well as power Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a comfortable nine-wicket win over Gujarat Titans. The over from Rashid yielded 29 runs as Kohli covered his mouth and smiled in admiration of the Englishman whose unbeaten hundred came just at the right time as England selectors scratch their heads to put the final 15 in place for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Kohli (70 not out of 44), whose approach in the middle overs was questioned in the previous game, employed the sweep shot against the spinners to make a statement before Jacks (100 not out off 41) cut loose to gun down the 201-run target with as many 24 balls to spare.
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Virat Kohli’s expression says it all
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Jacks went berserk in what turned out be the final over of the game, hammering as many as four sixes and four off Rashid Khan to close out the game much sooner than expected. The Englishman plundered as many as 10 sixes in his breathtaking effort.
RCB, who are enduring another tough season, picked up their third win in 10 games while Gujarat Titans suffered their sixth loss in 10 matches. The Faf du Plessis-led team seemed to have finally found some momentum, having picked a back to back win on Sunday.
“I mean, I thought we could win the game in 19 overs, but to finish it in 16 overs was an outstanding effort. I think it was one of the better T20I hundreds one would ever see, I was just happy to watch it closely from the other end,” Kohli said while praising Jacks’ knock.