Yet another tough day at the office for Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore. On a Go-Green day, they were outclassed by Delhi Capitals to see Sixth loss on a trot for Bangalore. Shreyas Iyer was the star of the match, who showed great determination in the middle for Delhi.
Initially, Virat Kohli played pretty unlike him with a run-a-ball knock in such good batting conditions. However, he covered it by smashing two sixes in the end while AB de Villiers once again failed to make things fall in place.
We thought 150 would be difficult – Virat Kohli
Speaking of the loss, he blamed the team’s fielding effort, which is always an important thing while defending such a low tally on the board. Further, he added that 15-20 runs would have been brilliant for the team.
“We thought 160 would be competitive, but we kept losing wickets at regular intervals, so I wanted to take the game deep. Even 150, had we held on to our chances, would’ve been difficult for them. We need to grab those chances, can’t give excuses every day. We just weren’t good on the given day. That’s the whole story of RCB this season,” Virat Kohli quoted.
On his slow batting:
Speaking of his slow batting, Virat Kohli quoted that it was the plan, as AB de Villiers walked back pretty early in the innings. He also added that it was tough to bat on that surface, as it was pretty dry.
”When AB got out, I had to anchor the innings. Stoinis was good, Akshdeep was good too. When one senior batsman gets out, it’s important for the other senior to anchor. I wasn’t happy getting out at the stage, could’ve made 25-30 more for the team if I was still there till the end, but felt 160 was a good score,” he added.
There is nothing more to tell the players:
Further, he also cited that there is nothing much to say for the team, as they knew what should be done on the field. He wants players to express themselves on the field for the team.
”When the mind is cluttered, you wouldn’t be able to focus on the chances that come your way. When you have clarity, you can take your chances better. Shreyas made 65, he was dropped on eight. You never know, could’ve come into the game that time. There’s nothing more you can tell the team. We’ve asked the boys to take responsibility,” he added.
Need to play expressive cricket:
Finally, he asked his side to play their game freely after a good break. Further, he went on to add saying that they need to accept things as it was on the display.
”Need to play expressive cricket. Personally, not trying to control anything. After a while, it’s about the skill. The team needs to relax, whatever’s in front of us, we need to accept it. We want to enjoy as a team, otherwise we won’t be able to play any good cricket,” he concluded.
As Virat Kohli said, it was a tough day for the team once again in the tournament. Now, they will have a good 6-day break in the tournament before heading back to the action on next Saturday on April 13th against Kings XI Punjab.