Akash Chopra criticises Virat Kohli for playing a slow knock against Kolkata Knight Riders

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have gotten off to a poor start in the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League. They were defeated by Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, after they put 182 runs on the board in the first innings. The visitors chased down the total with 3.1 overs remaining, and eight wickets in hand.

Virat Kohli was the top scorer for Bengaluru once again, scoring an unbeaten knock of 83 runs off just 59 balls. However, former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra was not so happy with his knock, and termed it slow in terms of the pitch and match pace.

"When Sunil Narine opens, the template is absolutely clear - 'Either I or you will not remain'. He plays in that fashion, tries to hit sixes. Everyone knows that you need to repeatedly bowl bouncers and yorkers, but if you don't get success in that, just like Bengaluru didn't get in the first six overs, he takes the match far away from your grasp," Chopra said.

"Phil Salt was also there with him. Phil Salt hit 18 runs in the first over itself. He was brilliant. Just to put things in context, the opposing team bowled well but Kohli played 59 balls to reach 83 and Kolkata had already scored 85 in 5.5 overs. Whether it was Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Siraj, or Yash Dayal, everyone was hit a lot," he said.