Ahmedabad, May 30 (IANS) As Royal Challengers Bengaluru prepare for the IPL 2026 final against the Gujarat Titans, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes Virat Kohli’s ability to read and counter opposition plans could once again prove crucial in the title clash.

Kohli has been a key figure in RCB’s run to a second successive final, providing stability at the top of the order while allowing the team’s aggressive middle order to play with freedom. Ahead of Sunday’s showdown in Ahmedabad, Ashwin praised the veteran batter’s game awareness, particularly in his ongoing battle with Gujarat’s bowling attack led by Kagiso Rabada.

“Virat is very smart, actually, in terms of understanding what’s coming his way,” Ashwin told Jio Hotstar. “In the last game in Dharamshala, he pulled one off Kagiso Rabada, and it’s almost like he’s telling himself, the world, and Rabada, ‘You know what, I can pull that. You got me out in Ahmedabad, but I’m showing you that I’ve got that in my closet,” he added.

According to Ashwin, Gujarat’s primary strategy against Kohli has been to attack him with wide deliveries and force him into uncomfortable scoring areas.

“What GT have done to Virat is bowl really wide. They’re asking his closed bottom hand to open up and go square of the pitch. He’s gotten out nicking those balls over the last two years,” he said.

“Virat countered that well in Ahmedabad. They went back to that plan in Dharamshala, and he still handled it well,” he added.

Ashwin believes Kohli’s role remains central to RCB’s batting strategy, particularly because his presence at the crease allows other batters to continue playing the fearless brand of cricket that has defined the defending champions’ campaign.

“Everybody in the RCB team would want Virat anchored in there for as long as he can, because that enables them to take the high-risk options they have played all through the season,” he said.

Ashwin also highlighted RCB captain Rajat Patidar’s strength against spin bowling, describing him as one of the most destructive spin-hitters in the competition and suggesting Gujarat may need to rely more on pace than spin if they are to contain him in the final.

“He’s a demonic spin-hitter. He’s one of those very rare breeds of batters who climb into deliveries using his feet, whether it’s towards the stumps, outside leg stump, or through the covers, he steps into it. That’s a very rare phenomenon. The reason he’s able to do it is that he’s diminutive in stature, but he’s got a great bat swing, which just dips and goes to the highest point where he can really start using those levers, very much like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi,” Ashwin said.

–IANS

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