Virat Kohli was dismissed for just 22 runs in the RCB vs DC game in IPL 2025.
Young Delhi Capitals (DC) bowling sensation Vipraj Nigam relished a moment that he would never forget in IPL 2025— getting the wicket of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Virat Kohli.
The leg-spinner had removed Kohli in the seventh over of RCB’s innings. Kohli was caught by Mitchell Starc, who came running from long-off. That was a significant blow for the now defending IPL champions, who were 74/3 and could only post a total of 163/7. Vipraj, who was acquired for INR 50 lakh, was playing his maiden IPL season. He finished the season with 11 wickets from 14 matches.
“Once I got Kohli bhai’s wicket, that feeling… standing there, talking to him later — it must’ve felt like a dream come true. For cricketers like us, just facing him is inspiring. And to get him out — unforgettable. Before that game, I wasn’t even sure I’d play. It was a 50-50 call between me and another pacer. But just 10 minutes before toss, they told me I was in,” Vipraj told Cricxtasy during an exclusive interview on the CX Podcast Show.
The 21-year-old further spoke on his experience of playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“And imagine — first time playing at Chinnaswamy. That ground, that atmosphere, RCB fans, and then Virat Kohli in front of you. Pressure was on another level. “The best part? The innings started, and Salt was smashing Starc everywhere. Then I managed a run-out of Salt with a throw. That boosted my confidence. I bowled a few good overs in the circle. Virat bhai and Devdutt were there, and I thought, “Okay, maybe I will go for 15–20 runs this over.”
However, he ended up conceding just two runs from his next over, but despite that, the pressure was still on him with Virat Kohli out there.
“But somehow I conceded only two runs. Pressure was still there though — against a player like Virat, you cannot bowl a loose ball. Next over, I focused on keeping it away from him. Give him singles if needed, but no freebies.
“And then, bowling to Virat bhai — honestly, it is every bowler’s dream. First ball he smashed me for six. I just thought, “At least it was a good ball he hit.” Inside, I was like — okay, Kohli bhai has hit me, that’s fine. It almost felt like an achievement in itself,” he recalled.
“That’s the respect he commands. He hit me for six, but I still felt proud that I got to bowl to him, and later dismiss him. That day, even though he hit me, Starc took a brilliant catch, and I ended up with Kohli bhai’s wicket. For me, that’s a story I will never forget,” stated Vipraj.
For Vipraj, the fact that he dismissed Virat Kohli in an IPL match took time for him to sink in. He even recalled how the Chinnaswamy Stadium went silent after Kohli’s wicket.
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“I could not understand what had happened. I was just standing there celebrating like this, and I did not know anything, but the whole ground suddenly went quiet. When Virat bhai got out, I even went near the boundary for a while, drank water and all, thinking—yes, Virat bhai has actually been dismissed by me,” reminisced Vipraj.
Delhi Capitals went onto beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets, with KL Rahul scoring an unbeaten 93. Both teams went onto have contrasting fortunes in IPL 2025. While the Axar Patel-led side were eliminated from the league stage, RCB went onto clinch their maiden IPL title by beating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final.
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