Michael Clarke rips apart RCB management namedropping Virat Kohli after the latter's 8th IPL ton

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke defended Virat Kohli amid strike-rate criticism for his performance in the 19th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Michael Clarke attributed Royal Challengers Bengaluru's recent loss to a lack of runs from the rest of the lineup.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) suffered a six-wicket loss against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday, April 6. Virat Kohli scored his eighth century in tournament history, but his strike rate sparked debate once again on social media.

Faf du Plessis and Kohli formed an impressive partnership of 125 runs after being asked to bat first. Kohli found himself without substantial support after Du Plessis departed. The former RCB skipper scored an unbeaten 113 runs off 72 balls, hitting 12 boundaries and four sixes.

The 35-year-old batter became the first centurion of the ongoing season. The ace batter reached his century in just 67 balls, making it one of the joint-slowest centuries in the league's history. It's worth mentioning that this was his third IPL century in the last seven matches.

Virat Kohli Was Brilliant - Michael Clarke

Speaking on Star Sports, Michael Clarke avoided blaming Virat Kohli for the loss and instead criticized the team's failure to support the star batter. Clarke noted that Kohli played the exact role he needed to play, especially considering the poor performances of other batters.

“I wouldn't point my fingers at Virat Kohli. He was brilliant, and I think he played the exact role he needed to play because the batters around him are not scoring enough runs, not playing with enough confidence or enough freedom,” Clarke told Star Sports.

RCB Left 15 Runs On The Ground - Michael Clarke

The former Australian cricketer highlighted that RCB missed out on potential runs, questioning the decision-making process. Clarke criticized the decision of RCB captain Du Plessis to send Cameron Green ahead of Dinesh Karthik, who has been in excellent form in 2022.

“I think RCB left 15 runs on the ground. A few of their decisions were hard to understand. You have got Karthik as a finisher; I don’t know why he did not come in probably after Maxwell. He certainly should have come in before Green. That was an interesting decision,” Clarke added.

Cameron Green failed to capitalize on the last few overs, as he remained unbeaten on five runs after facing six balls, which hampered Bengaluru's chances of boosting their run tally. Furthermore, the team management omitted Mahipal Lomror, who had scored 33 runs off 13 balls against the Lucknow Super Giants, from the initial playing XI.

Rajasthan Royals chased down the target of 184 runs in 19.1 overs, propelled by Jos Buttler's unbeaten century along with Sanju Samson's aggressive fifty. Buttler scored an unbeaten 100 runs off 58 balls at a striking rate of 172.41, while Samson added 69 runs off 42 balls to the team's total.

Also read: 'Virat Kohli is not going to score runs...' - Steve Smith on RCB's poor IPL 2024 campaign