IPL 2020: Virat Kohli Rues Missed Chance As SunRisers Hyderabad Thump RCB

Nov 7, 2020 at 12:20 PM

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IPL 2020: Virat Kohli Rues Missed Chance As SunRisers Hyderabad Thump RCB

Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) rued the dropped difficult catch of SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) batsman; Kane Williamson by Devdutt Padikkal at the fag end of the IPL eliminator, saying the match could have gone in Bangalore’s favour had the “difficult” chance been taken.

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s campaign in the Indian Premier League 2020 ended on Friday as RCB failed to defend their paltry score of 131/7 with only AB De Villiers scoring 56 and Aaron Finch scoring 32. Apart from them none of the other players could score more than 10 runs.

AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli
AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. Photo Credit: Twitter.

Virat Kohli Credits Devdutt Padikkal And 3 Others For Stepping Up

Facing Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL Eliminator, RCB failed to step up on the right occasion. Batting first after SRH won the toss and opted to bowl, RCB could only manage 131 runs in 20 overs with only AB de Villiers able to score 56 off 43 balls.

RCB bowlers made it difficult for the SRH batsmen but ultimately failed to defend the target as SRH won by 6 wickets with Kane Williamson remaining unbeaten on 50 off 44 balls and adjudged MOM.

With their season coming to an end, captain Virat Kohli reflected on the performance of the RCB players. While he lavished praise on batsman Devdutt Padikkal, pacer Mohammed Siraj, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and batting mainstay AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli wasn’t happy with the performance of the other players.

“Couple of people have stood up, Devdutt (Padikkal) is one of them, he stepped up nicely and getting 400+ runs is not easy. He has played with a lot of class and efficiency for the team. Very happy for him.”

Devdutt Padikkal
Devdutt Padikkal. Photo Credit: Twitter.

“(Mohammed) Siraj has had a good comeback. Yuzi (Chahal) has been solid as ever, AB (de Villiers) has been solid as ever. The others contributed but just not enough.”

While Devdutt Padikkal scored 473 runs, Virat Kohli scored 466 runs and AB De Villiers scored 454 runs with the trio playing 15 matches each. Among bowlers Yuzvendra Chahal took 21 wickets in 15 matches. Pacers Mohammed Siraj and Chris Morris took 11 wickets each in nine matches.

Virat Kohli : It’s A Game Of Margins And Bangalore Didn’t Score Enough Runs

Kane Williamson was dropped by Devdutt Padikkal at the boundary in a difficult attempt when SRH needed 28 from 2.4 overs. The reprieve cost RCB dearly as the New Zealand skipper went on to score an unbeaten 50 to help SRH chase down the modest target of 132 with two balls remaining.

“It is a game of margins and if Kane (Williamson) was taken there then it is a different ball game,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation.

“If you talk about the first innings I don’t think we had enough runs on the board. We made one helluva game in the second half, the positions we got ourselves into in the second half,” he added.

Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

A batting heavy side consisting of Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, AB De Villiers and Moeen Ali, RCB could only post 131 for 7 after being sent in. Virat Kohli said his side just allowed SRH bowlers to bowl to the areas they wanted as they were under pressure and should have been more expressive.

“Altogether they put us under a lot of pressure in the first innings. Few soft dismissals, few fortunate ones for them as well and we just didn’t have enough runs on the board. Maybe a bit of nerves, maybe a bit of hesitation, we need to be more expressive with the bat. We didn’t put enough pressure on their bowlers. We didn’t have any phases in the game where we got away from the opposition.”

Virat Kohli admitted that RCB haven’t been up to the mark in the last 5 matches as they have lost all of them.

“In the last 2-3 games we have hit it straight to the fielders, lot of good shots going to the fielders,” he said.

Vi rat Kohli said not having home and away matches has made IPL 2020 one of the most competitive ever as no team are favourites.

“That also tells you the strength of the teams in the IPL, no team is run away favourites as such and every team has strong players. One of the other reasons is playing in only three venues and there’s no home and away advantage.

“Similar conditions for everyone and that’s the reason this has been one of the competitive IPL this year. It was amazing to have had this opportunity to come out and play,” Virat Kohli maintained.

Virat Kohli said similar conditions for all the teams as none of them had advantage of playing at home made IPL 2020 one of the most competitive. Previously only IPL 2009 was held in South Africa and part of IPL 2014 was held in the UAE due to elections in India.

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