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India's star batter Virat Kohli and the evergreen cricketer Faf du Plessis completed 1000 runs as an opening pair against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday.
The destructive duo unleashed a storm which swept away the entire SRH bowling line-up. Their 172-run partnership made the entire game one-sided. Kohli (100 runs in 63 balls) struck the sixth century in IPL history while du Plessis played the anchor role and struck 71(47). Virat Kohli's chase masterclass and his scintillating century overshadowed Heinrich Klaasen's ton in a gripping run-fest. Chasing 187 to win, RCB got off to a flying start courtesy of in-form openers - Virat Kohli and Captain Faf du Plessis. Opener Virat Kohli hit from the word go and was off the mark with two timely strokes before Faf du Plessis jumped on the bandwagon. The fifty partnership was up yet again in the tournament for RCB's opening duo and the visitors moved to 64/0 after 6 overs. SRH nearly put an end to the opening partnership after Mayank Dagar took a sensational catch, however, on a delivery that unfortunately turned out to be a no-ball, adding to SRH's worries. The duo looked unstoppable with the bat as both du Plessis and Kohli reached their respective half-centuries and RCB were cruising at 108/0 with 8 overs to go. Virat Kohli was at his sublime best and left everyone in awe as the 150-run partnership was up for the opening wicket. The equation was down to 23 off 18 for the visitors as SRH kept searching for the opening wicket. Virat Kohli smashed a maximum off Bhuvneshwar Kumar's bowling to reach his first century of the season in style. SRH bounced back to dismiss both the RCB openers in quick succession but it was too late for the home side as RCB chased down the target with four balls to spare and register an 8-wicket victory. (ANI)
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