Kolkata Knight Riders have scripted a historic victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday when they ran through the star-studded RCB batting lineup before bowling them out for a mere 49.
The result saw RCB record the lowest innings total ever in the history of IPL, as the batsmen got bundled out in just 9.4 overs. No player managed to go past even nine runs with AB de Villiers being the highest scorer in a forgettable match.
Chasing 132, RCB’s downfall began when Virat Kohli was dismissed for a golden duck and the rest of the team continued the trend, as their batsmen looked like a bunch of amateurs at the Eden Gardens.
Nathan Coulter-Nile, Umesh Yadav, Colin de GrandHomme and Chris Woakes have all managed to rattle RCB batting lineup, as it was a sheer domination of pace bowling on a bouncy Eden pitch.
Having suffered one of the bitter defeats in the history of IPL, AB de Villiers left a heartfelt message to RCB fans who were shocked with their team’s poor performance on the night.
In his message, AB de Villiers said:
“It’s difficult to find words after that embarrassing performance in Kolkata last night but the fact of the matter is it’s done and dusted. It’s something in the past and there is nothing we can do now to change our performance. What we can do is to look for a solution I believe there are two things we need to.
“No. 1 looking at ourselves in the mirror. Each and every player has to look at themselves in the mirror and find a way to become better for the rest of the tournament and find a way to up your game. No.2 Opportunity. We have 7 games left for the rest of the tournament and every single game is an opportunity to find a spark and get the momentum rolling.
“Tomorrow is another opportunity against the Sunrisers and we need to find a way to lit that spark. I know we can do it and I really believe that in my heart we have what it takes to turn it around again. I hope you believe it too.”
Virat Kohli was also critical on his batsmen in the second innings, as he admitted that their performance is simply unacceptable.
“After the kind of half that we had, we thought we could capitalise and chase it down. Reckless batting. I can’t say anything at the moment. It was that bad. This is just not acceptable,” said Virat Kohli.
Royal Challengers were left with another major blow, as their game against Sunrisers Hyderabad was called out before a ball was bowled due to rain.
They will now face Gujarat Lions on Thursday at Chinnaswamy Stadium and nothing short than a win will help RCB’s cause to qualify for playoffs this season.