‘I get excited when Virat Kohli fails’: Krunal Pandya feels RCB icon is poised for strong comeback before IPL 2026 playoffs originally appeared on Cricket News.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- RCB star Krunal Pandya backed Virat Kohli to bounce back after two consecutive ducks in IPL.
- Kohli has 379 runs this season, but has managed just 28 runs in his last three innings.
- Last time Kohli had back-to-back ducks, he responded with centuries and fifties.
Questions arise over Virat Kohli’s form after consecutive ducks in IPL 2026
For the second match running in IPL 2026, Virat Kohli walked back to the pavilion without scoring, and his critics were once again on overdrive.
In Raipur on Sunday, Deepak Chahar got him first ball. It was a peach of a delivery that held its line and bounced a fraction more than Kohli expected. The batsman attempted to drive over mid-off, but failed to get the desired elevation, and Raj Bawa dived forward to complete the catch cleanly.
A few days ago, Prince Yadav had bowled him out for nought against Lucknow Super Giants, where he faced just two deliveries before his stumps were rattled.
Across eleven innings in IPL 2026, he has accumulated 379 runs at an average of 42.11 and a strike rate above 163, including three half-centuries. Those are not the numbers of a batter in crisis. But Kohli has always been held to a standard that goes beyond averages.
In his last three outings, he has managed just 28 runs in total, and that kind of sequence in a playoff race is always going to invite discussion.
What did Krunal Pandya say about Virat Kohli’s rough patch?
Speaking after the match, Krunal Pandya addressed the question about Kohli’s dip with genuine confidence.
He said that when Kohli fails across two games, it makes him more excited rather than anxious, because he knows from experience what tends to follow.
“Virat Kohli is a champion player. When he fails for two games, I get more excited because I know he will come back. We are never tense about him. He is a different beast, he has a lot of hunger. From here on, I am sure Virat Kohli will do Virat Kohli things,” he said.
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The Cricket News Opinion: History backs Krunal’s confidence
The last time Kohli recorded back-to-back ducks was in international cricket, against Australia in Perth and Adelaide during the late 2025 ODI series. And what followed was a remarkable sequence.
He scored 74 not out in Sydney, then 135 off 143 in Ranchi against South Africa, followed by 102 off 93 in Raipur and an unbeaten 65 off 45 in Visakhapatnam. Against New Zealand in Vadodara, he added 93 off 91.
History has repeatedly shown that Kohli’s lean patches tend to be short and followed by something spectacular. The concerning part for RCB is not whether he will bounce back; he almost certainly will, but whether the timing works in their favour with the playoffs so close. If it does, only a few things in cricket will be more compelling to watch.
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