IPL 2017: “It Has Been A Season To Forget & Reflect On,” Says RCB Skipper Virat Kohli
May 24, 2023 at 3:02 PM
The season might have been a poor one for Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore but they ended the tournament on high, by virtue of defeating Delhi Daredevils in the final league game of Indian Premier League 2017.
Opting to bat first on a slow track, just for the second time in the season, Chris Gayle spoke with his bat this time by playing an innings of 48 while opening the innings with Vishnu Vinod.
An early fall of wicket meant that Virat Kohli was on strike. The skipper along with Gayle shared 66 runs to steer the team. There was an expectation of both the experienced batsman sharing a big partnership but Gayle was dismissed on 48.
Kohli continued to bat on but the run rate was a concern for the team and in order to increase it, Kohli found himself caught at the boundary rope on 58.
It seemed like RCB might finish the innings around a score of 140 but the succeeding batsmen increased the run rate and in 21 balls bowled after Kohli’s dismissal, the other batsman scored 43 off 21 deliveries, to end the innings with a score of 161.
At one stage, it looked like Delhi might win, as they had partnerships but the inconsistency cost them, as none of the partnership could be a big one, which also decided the result of the game. It was the inexperience in the batting line-up which cost Delhi, a fact which Zaheer Khan also accepted after looking back into the season.
Here is what RCB skipper Virat Kohli said after the win over Delhi Daredevils –
When I met Matthew after the game, I said I thought I had to come to you for an interview. It is good to win a game finally. Guys took it as an opportunity. Every game is an opportunity. It has been a season to forget and reflect on. We have to start fresh as a franchise. Maybe a blessing in disguise. Depends on how many players we can retain. But we do have guys who we have identified. We are really happy to finish off with a win. The guys disperse tomorrow so some celebrations tonight. Both guys playing their first games bowled their hearts out. Especially, Avesh the way he rushed batsmen on this track was really tough. Not many world class bowlers could do that. And Harshal could not play games this season but when he came, got three wickets. The ball held up a bit there (on the six that he hit off Corey Anderson).