"Kohli be like: Friendship ended with ABD, now Faf is my new bestie" - Twitter reacts as RCB thrash MI by eight wickets in IPL 2023

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batters Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis were on song in the franchise's first game at their fortress, M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The pair put together 148 runs for the opening wicket to steer the home side to a commanding eight-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, April 2.

Chasing 172 runs set by the visitors, the opening pair made the most of the powerplay, scoring 53 runs. They made the most of a sedate bowling effort by Mumbai and continued their onslaught into the middle overs as well.

They brought up the 100-run partnership in the 11th over and then focused on wrapping up the chase as soon as possible. Mixing caution with aggression, the duo never looked in trouble at any point during their partnership, with the conditions helping their cause as well.

The partnership was eventually broken by debutant Arshad Khan after Faf du Plessis holed out to the long-on fielder while trying to clear a slower delivery away.

Twitter relished every bit of the partnership and shed heavy praise on the duo, who led RCB to a winning start in IPL 2023.

Here are some of the reactions:

Kohli be like: Friendship ended with ABD, now Faf is my new bestie #RCBvMI

Hold that Jofra 🤣 all this hype before the match just to get owned by kohli and Faf.

Mumbai Indians bowlers after facing virat kohli & Faf DuPlessis.
#RCBvsMI https://t.co/tyogN09dRY

Kohli and Faf in chinnaswamy
https://t.co/an5iivrWLE twitter.com/arunkalyan5/st…

Virat kohli 🤜🤛 faf du plessis
#RCBvMI https://t.co/XVOgZELaVg

Virat Kohli and Faf du plessis be like: https://t.co/oprFlSa2J5

Absolute carnage by Kohli and faf 🙇🙇🔥

Virat Kohli hitting some fine shots.!! Especially the way he dealt with Jofra Archer 🤣🤣 simply outstanding.!!
Faf du Plessis played brilliant innings.! He plays with such grace.!
RCB chasing this fantastic.!
#RCBvMI #RCBvsMI #MIvsRCB #IPL23 #IPL2023

Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis have made this chase look like a cakewalk 💉❤️
#RCBvsMI #IPL2023 https://t.co/4BuF10MzQI

What a Partnership !!
Kohli - Faf 🔥🔥
#IPL2023 | #RCBvMI

Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis is unstoppable 🔥

Maar ke Mumbai Indians ka mor bana diya😂😂

#IPL #RCBvMI #RCBvsMI #TATAIPL #ViratKohli𓃵 #TATAIPL2023 #FafDuPlessis
#ViratKohli
#MumbaiIndians
#ArchanaGautam https://t.co/JfxGVoMfMz

Kohli and Faf today https://t.co/FXFspwkqak

"Faf and I took turns to attack" - Virat Kohli after a winning start to IPL 2023

Virat Kohli ended up as the top scorer, finishing the innings after losing Faf du Plessis and Dinesh Karthik in quick succession. He finished off the game with a six and announced his arrival into the IPL season after a forgettable campaign last year.

Following his match-winning knock, Kohli said in a post-match interaction with the broadcasters:

"Faf and I took turns to attack. We wanted to finish it with enough balls to spare to help our net run-rate. The new ball was a bit tricky but because we took them down with the new ball, that's how it shifted momentum back in our favor."

Will either one of du Plessis or Kohli win the Orange Cap in IPL 2023? Let us know what you think.