Virat Kohli's monstrous six before rain break in RCB vs CSK leaves MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis awestruck

Rain was expected to make an appearance on Saturday evening in Bengaluru as Royal Challengers Bengaluru took on defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium with both teams aiming to book the final playoff spot, and it did early into the match after the home team were put to bat first. A spell of heavy showers interrupted the proceedings at the end of the third over of the match. But in those 18 deliveries played, the Bengaluru crowd were entertained by a blazing start from Virat Kohli.

Even though captain Faf du Plessis looked to struggle in the nine balls he faced in the match until the rain break, Kohli's intentions seemed pretty clear withe RCB hoping to post a massive total, north of 200, with the aim to not just beat CSK in the match but also win go past them in the points table in terms of net run rate.

IPL 2024, RCB vs CSK Live score

In the third over of the match, Kohli welcomed Chennai fast bowler Tushar Deshpande with a monstrous six. It was a length ball from Deshpande, angling into the right-handed batter as Kohli swivelled across and pulled it high over long leg for a 98-metre six that hit the top of the Chinnaswamy roof before, falling into the stands.

The gigantic six left Du Plessis absolutely flabbergasted while Dhoni, who was left awestruck as well, watched it helplessly sail high over the boundary ropes.

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A delivery later, Kohli hit another six, this time against a shorter delivery, as he rolled his wrists to power it over square leg. 13 runs came off Deshpande's second over as RCB amassed 31 runs for no loss in 18 balls before rain interrupted the match.

RCB made no changes to their line-up, while Chennai Super Kings made just one change - Mitchell Santner in for Moeen Ali.

"The wicket looks good, conditions are overcast and we will look to make the most of the movement in the first 2-3 overs. It looks a bit damp, but we'll go with great intent," CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said after winning the toss and opting to bowl first.

"We would have fielded as well, but we put up a good score when we batted first last. Losing the toss isn't ideal, but we'll take a lot of confidence from the last 5 games. The set-up is great, last match before the knockout stage, the scenario is nicely set up and we're happy to play our last league game in front of our fans. Not thinking a lot, we'll take it as it comes and do our best," Du Plessis added.