The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are having a superb IPL 2025. They are only the third team to win six games in the league so far, and are sitting comfortably in the top half of the points table. They checked their last box as well, finally ending their hoodoo at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Guess who was the main architect of the win? Well, Virat Kohli, who continued his terrific form at the IPL 2025.
Kohli remains the bedrock of RCB’s batting
In a season where multiple teams have experimented with aggressive top orders and floaters, RCB have gone back to what works best — stability at the top, and firepower to follow. Virat Kohli, with 392 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 144.12, is once again proving that consistency is not the enemy of modern T20 batting. Five fifties in nine outings, and the ability to anchor the innings while still scoring at a brisk rate, has given RCB the edge they were missing in the past few seasons.
Aaron Finch, who has been closely following the franchise’s campaign, believes that Kohli’s form hasn’t just been good — it’s been foundational.
“Yes, I mean, if you are offered 650, 700 runs at the start of the year, from one of your top-three batters. No matter whether your strike rate is 150 or 200, you would take that every single day because that just allows your team the platform to play around,” said Finch on Star Sports.
His latest match-winning knock — a 70 off 46 balls against the Rajasthan Royals — was a vintage Kohli effort. It wasn’t flashy, but it was commanding. He weathered the early swing, shifted gears when the field spread out, and ensured RCB finished with a defendable total.
Kohli’s presence frees up the middle order
One of the more interesting observations made by Finch was about the freedom Kohli provides others in the line-up. RCB’s strategy this season has involved unleashing high-risk, high-reward players in the middle order — a tactic that only works when the top is secure.
“That’s when you can put some cowboys in the middle order, ultra-high risk and they tried to do that with Livingstone and it hasn’t quite worked. Last year, Maxwell played that high-risk game as well and Patidar is looking to be overly aggressive as well. So it just allows you a platform, you know, once Virat gets in, very rarely does he get out at 30,” said Finch.
Virat Kohli’s stats at IPL 2025
- Runs: 392
- Innings: 9
- Fifties: 5
- Average: 65.33
- Strike Rate: 144.12
| Match Date | Score | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Apr | 70 (42) | RR |
| 20 Apr | 73 (54) | PBKS |
| 18 Apr | 1 (3) | PBKS |
| 13 Apr | 62 (45) | RR |
| 10 Apr | 22 (14) | DC |
| 7 Apr | 67 (42) | MI |
| 2 Apr | 7 (6) | GT |
| 28 Mar | 31 (30) | CSK |
| 22 Mar | 59 (36) | KKR |
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