Urvil Patel stops Virat Kohli in his tracks with historic knock

Dubai: Ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) clash with Mumbai Indians on Sunday, Virat Kohli was engrossed in watching a breathtaking innings being played hundreds of kilometres away in Chennai.

During a brief drinks break in his pre-match warm-up at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Kohli stopped by a television screen to catch Urvil Patel tearing apart the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bowling attack.

What started as a brief look soon held Kohli’s attention for much longer, as Patel dismantled the LSG attack at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

The 27-year-old delivered one of the most blistering knocks of IPL 2026, storming to a 50 in just 13 balls, equalling the fastest half-century ever scored in the tournament.

Walking in after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lost opener Sanju Samson early, Patel made an instant impact.

He took the attack to Avesh Khan with three consecutive sixes and then continued the onslaught against Digvesh Rathi.

His explosive strokeplay propelled CSK through successive 25-run overs and dramatically swung the chase in their favour.

The right-handed batter eventually hammered 65 off only 23 deliveries in a stunning innings filled with massive sixes and fearless shot-making.

While Rathi spilled a catch soon after Patel brought up his half-century, the batter was unable to fully capitalise on the reprieve for long.

Even though CSK lost momentum following his dismissal, they still managed to chase down the target and register an important win against LSG.

However, the Player of the Match honour was awarded to pacer Jamie Overton for his influential figures of 3/36.