Kohli says playing his best T20 cricket but IPL crown elusive

MUMBAI - Virat Kohli says he's playing his best Twenty20 cricket again but at 34 the superstar batsman is running out of time to win the Indian Premier League.

Kohli scored another century for Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday -- his second in as many matches -- and he now has seven IPL tons, more than any other player.

But his 101 not out wasn't enough. Gujarat Titans won by six wickets as they, Chennai, Mumbai and Lucknow went through to the playoffs of the world's biggest T20 tournament.

"A lot of people think that my T20 cricket is declining. I don't feel like that at all," Kohli said afterwards.

"I think I am playing my best T20 cricket again."

That might be so, but for Kohli and Bangalore it was just the latest IPL failure.

The franchise has never won the title in 16 attempts -- they were runners-up three times -- since the tournament began in 2008.

Kohli was Bangalore skipper for nine of those seasons and at the end of the 2021 edition he decided to give up leading the team.