When Virat Kohli tucked Mohammed Shami down to long-on to reach a hard-earned fifty, his first in the IPL since September 2021, there was none of the usual machismo in his celebration. For a batter characteristically overflowing with expressive energy, there was nothing more than a look at the skies upon reaching the landmark, relief more visible than anything.

That Kohli has endured a rough couple of years is plain to see, the run-making not nearly as prolific as it was in his late twenties. The extent of his century-less streak, all formats combined, is possibly the most circulated cricketing stat going around, and each failure only increases the size of the question mark over his supposed waning of powers.

So, with Kohli posting a fifty-plus figure at the top of the scoresheet, his first half-ton this IPL season, there was an expected sense of joy among fans. Everyone likes the story of a fallen hero rising back up. Was this the much-awaited return to form?

Not really. At least not yet. The fifty might have been a comforting landmark to get, but it was hardly an impactful knock in the context of the game, and far from Kohli’s own brand of batting. Tasked with the crucial role of opener, Kohli opted to break the shackles quickly, despite Faf du Plessis’ exit in the second over. He cracked five fours inside the powerplay – exactly the number he’d managed in the first six overs all season combined before then – but it didn’t really amount to a great start. RCB were 43-1, and Kohli on 27 off 21. The next two overs yielded eight runs combined.

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Rajat Patidar, an enterprising floater playing just his second game of the season, did the heavy lifting from there on, bravely taking on the overseas trio of Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, and Rashid Khan/ By the 11th over, he’d raced to 40 off 21, with Kohli, on a run-a-ball 33 at one point, unleashing a couple of release shots to move to 45 off 41. By the 13th over, Kohli was looking up to the skies; next over, Patidar had a 29-ball fifty to his name. After 14 overs, RCB were 110-1, looking to break into third gear.

Patidar’s dismissal stalled that idea though, even as a rather rusty Glenn Maxwell audaciously kept trying the reverse-hit. From Patidar’s exit in the 15th over to Kohli’s own dismissal in the 17th, the former skipper faced four balls, fetching three runs. At the end, he was walking back with a strike-rate of 109.43, having missed a low full-toss. It was the slowest of his 43 IPL fifties to date. From the powerplay up until the 17th over, he hit just one four and one six.

Gujarat Titans eventually chased down 171 in the final over; in hindsight, RCB were a few runs short, afflicted by a dry phase in the middle overs. For Kohli himself, the lack of tempo in the second half was evident.

The runs column was a welcome sight, but purely from an academic sense, the fluency was far from Kohli’s best. Maybe, just maybe, it’s the first step towards a return to his usual run-making routine, but we still have to wait. There surely were a few glimpses of it at Brabourne. Those glimpses can’t really be reflective of an obvious return to form though, and a sluggish fifty not quite an emphatic statement enough. There’s much more to Kohli’s redemption.