Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli watched his men go down once again in the ongoing eleventh edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).
The visitors in the form of Rajasthan Royals put up a massive score of 217 for four in their allotted 20 overs. Sanju Samson was at his best once again with the willow.
The top-order batsman Samson struck 10 sixes and a couple of boundaries – to help side get the upper hand.
Samson remained unbeaten on 92 off 45 balls. Apart from him, Rajasthan Royals‘ skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler joined hands and had a whack in the park. Rahane made 36, Stokes scored 27 and Buttler chipped in with 23.
While the RCB bowlers were found participating in a leather hunt. It was leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who found his guile. Chahal picked two wickets and conceded just 22 runs.
In the post-match conference, Kohli said he knows they missed a trick. The men in blue scored at a massive rate in their last 10 overs.
“We knew exactly where it went wrong. Having 70 in 10 overs, we were going good with the ball. But giving 140-odd in the last 10 is never a good sign. The wicket was slower than what we played like.” Kohli said, as his side lost the game by 19 runs.
There is a lot of belief: Kohli
Kohli stressed on the mode of dismissals and added that 20 fewer runs would have made things easier for them.
“We would have loved to have 20 runs lesser to chase. But then, I have never seen a game where four batsmen have got out to half-trackers. There is a lot of belief in the side, even when we needed 85 off the last 5 overs, we had belief,” Kohli added.
The skipper, who made 57 off 30 balls said that RCB were very much in the game till the 10th over. Virat Kohli and AB de Villers got dismissed under a couple of overs.
“That mindset is important. We had 100 in 10 overs, we were confident and if we hadn’t lost two wickets in six balls, things could have been different. No ifs or buts though. The first game we were on track, we had our chances today as well. Too early (in the season) to make drastic changes though,” Kohli maintained.
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