Whenever the discussion regarding Virat Kohli’s most memorable moments in Indian Premier League (IPL) takes place, it can’t be completed without mentioning the embarrassing over bowled by him. In that over, Kohli was destroyed mercilessly by former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Albie Morkel. The former South African smashed 28 runs in Kohli’s over and converted the lost battle into a victory.
Now, after years of the popular battle, Morkel has recalled the incident and dropped his thoughts saying that the win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a massive impact on his career and the team. Morkel still wonders why RCB gave Kohli that crucial over.
“Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had the game in their bag. I have no idea why they bowled Virat. All respect to him, he shouldn’t have bowled that over anyway. We lost a wicket in the last ball of the 18th over,” Morkel said on a chat show for CSK.
In that game, CSK needed 43 off the last two overs when the then RCB skipper Daniel Vettori handed over the ball to Kohli. In fact, Vettori had only two other options left in the form of Raju Bhatkal, who had gone for 35 runs in his two overs and Chris Gayle.
Morkel took Kohli to the cleaners, smashing three gigantic sixes and two fours in an over which cost RCB as many as 28 runs. The ‘Yellow Brigade’ then went on to win the contest after successfully scoring 15 runs in the last over bowled by Vinay Kumar.
When Morkel left Kohli in tears 🤥https://t.co/VhKwDlvXov
— Kumar Sourav (@AdamDhoni1) May 8, 2020
While reminiscing the episode, Morkel said that when he came to bat his team needed plenty of runs. The southpaw stated that when he saw Kohli, he thought that this over could bring some runs if he connects the ball well.
“The 19th and 20 were left. We needed 43 off 2. I walked in at No. 7. You look at the scoreboard, and you’re like ‘oh no, 40-odd off 2, that’s impossible’. You walk in, and then you see Virat’s bowling then I thought ‘if I can connect a few, maybe we can get close’, added Morkel.
Morkel said when his side got 28 runs from Kohli’s over followed by 15 in Vinay’s, the vibe that he felt on the ground was magical.
“I think I edged the 1st one for four that just missed my stumps. I edge another one just went over the short third man. I started hitting it straight, and we eventually got 28 and ended up winning the match with Bravo hitting a couple in the next over. That moment lasted about 15 minutes in my career. It is magical to look back at. I remember the vibe at the ground,” Morkel added further.
