Kohli still “not 100%” despite staring in LSG win

Dubai: Virat Kohli came a run short of hitting a half-century as he helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by five wickets on Wednesday night.

Despite dealing with a knee issue that he picked up in RCB’s previous game against Mumbai Indians, Kohli still imposed himself, delivering a commanding, high-intensity innings to reclaim the Orange Cap.

The 37-year-old produced a strong 49 off 34 balls, but it was his post-match comments that may have resonated even more with RCB fans.

“Yeah, (I’m feeling) much, much better than the last game," Kohli told the broadcasters.

“I’m still not 100%. My knee was a bit sore last game. Even health-wise, I’ve been under the weather for four or five days now. So yeah, just getting back up to my best."

Although satisfied with his performance, the former captain admitted he was disappointed not to see the job through. Kohli delivered a trademark innings in the chase, scoring at a strike rate above 200 early on as RCB quickly recovered from the early loss of Phil Salt.

He smashed four boundaries in an over from Prince Yadav and, alongside Devdutt Padikkal, put on 57 for the second wicket, though Padikkal’s contribution was just 10 before his dismissal.

Kohli, however, fell short of another IPL half-century, eventually being caught by Nicholas Pooran at long-on off the bowling of Avesh Khan.

“I’m happy with my intensity, I wanted to take the game head on,” he explained.

“I should have finished that game off as well. Not enough grass on the pitch, slower than normal, the last few days have been very hot, it was different.

“The idea was to take the game away from the opposition in the power play. I'm happy with my approach."

Kohli has enjoyed a positive IPL 2026 campaign so far, scoring 228 runs for RCB, who sit top of the current standings after their win over LSG, having won four of their five matches to date.