IPL 2023: How Cricket Fraternity Reacted to Virat Kohli's Assault on 'Big Dog' Jofra Archer

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IPL 2023: Virat Kohli was at his brutal best during Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) first match of the IPL 2023 season against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Mi Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. The talismanic cricketer blasted unbeaten 82 runs off just 49 balls to help RCB win by eight wickets.

The former captain looked sharp from the very beginning and wasn't intimidated by any Mumbai Indians bowler. Yes, not even Jofra Archer. Kohli's two scintillating sixes off the gun England pacer is currently the talk of the town.

Overall, the 34-year-old faced 17 deliveries from Archer and scored 28 runs at a strike rate of 164.7. He hit two fours and as many sixes. One of the sixes was hit flat over long-off, while the other one was sent flying over the deep square leg boundary rope.

Kohli came down the ground for the first six after reading the slower leg-cutter early. The second was dispatched out of the ground after Archer tried to surprise him by extra pace and bounce. Unstoppable, Kohli truly turned back the clock in front of a jam-packed crowd in Bengaluru.

Here's how the cricket fraternity has reacted to Kohli's bashing of the 'Big Dog' Jofra Archer.

Dinesh Karthik: That’s Virat Kohli for you. He sees the big dog in the opponent and realises that he wants to take him on. That’s the guy he wants to take on. He makes a statement, steps out, hits him over mid off. Not many people can say that they have stepped down and hit Jofra over the covers.

“It was just the way he dominated and it was a statement saying that 'I am here to make a difference to this team’. It was a confidence booster for the way he played,” Karthik was quoted as saying on Jio TV.

Aaron Finch: “Incredible hitting. First up, he plays on, the shot for me was one off Jofra Archer at mid-off. To me, that tells me that he's incredibly well-balanced at the crease. A phenomenal knock, and a great partnership with skipper Faf du Plessis,” Finch said on Star Sports.

Jacques Kallis: “He brings the energy. He's a difficult guy to bowl to, because upfront, he doesn't hurt you with hitting those big sixes, he plays some ball to the ground, knocks it around, hurts you with fours. So, it's the consistency that's there. The partnership with Faf, he played the more aggressive role. He played the perfect game tonight,” said Kallison Star Sports.

Sunil Gavaskar: “The pull shot for six towards the end, it was a slower delivery. But he got to the position so quickly, and he just flicked it as he was flicking a fly. And it went deep,” Gavaskar stated on Star Sports.