- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
ROYAL Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli expressed his deep disappointment with his players on Friday (24) after they lost to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 6 wickets in a crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) game at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the United Arab Emirates.
It was Bangalore’s second defeat in as many games after the tournament resumed in the Gulf nation after a gap of more than five months due to Covid-19 pandemic. They were hammered by Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets in the previous game after getting bundled for only 92.
ALSO READ: KKR hammer Kohli’s Bangalore by 9 wickets
The Royals made an impressive start to their campaign in the 2021 edition by winning their first four games. But they lost their way thereafter, managing to win only one of the next five. Bangalore are still placed at No.3 with 10 points from nine games but a couple of more losses could see them slipping out from the race for the play-offs.
Kohli, who returned among runs in the game against the CSK to score 53 off 41 balls and gave his side a solid foundation by adding 111 runs in 13 overs with fellow opener Devdutt Padikkal (70 off 50), was visibly upset after the loss and asked his players to be better.
Could Kohli lose RCB captaincy midway in 2021 edition?
Speaking to his colleagues in the dressing room after the defeat, Kohli said the side should be hurt after the loss as they let go off an opportunity to dominate the opponents.
“Today, we should be hurt, really hurt with this defeat. We talk about finishing on top, then this is not the way we should play,” the ace batsman said in the dressing room. Kohli has announced that he is stepping down from RCB’s captaincy after the end of the current season. He will also quit the national captaincy in the T20 format after the upcoming World Cup starting next month.
RCB scored 100 runs in the first 10 overs but the CSK bowlers made a strong comeback to give only 45 runs in the last nine. From 111 in 13 overs, the Royals could manage only 156 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs.
The bowlers also failed to inspire Kohli and he made evident his displeasure after the match. None of his strike bowlers – Mohammed Siraj or Navdeep Saini – could pick up a wicket.
“We could’ve got 175, that could’ve been a winning total. The pitch had a lot to offer but our bowlers could not make use. They got away with too many boundary opportunities. They bowled well in their back end and executed the yorkers when needed. It was difficult for us to get elevation, and only bad balls could be put away. We then gave too many boundary balls.
“We spoke of areas we didn’t want them to hit, but we couldn’t do that. The X-Factor was missing in the first five overs with the ball. But its very important to execute balls during the crunch moments. Those few moments… thats what we failed to capitalise on. We need to get on a winning run again. This game is more disappointing than the first one. We were on top and then gave it all away..,.” Kohli said.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai went to the top of the points table with 14 points from nine games. Delhi Capitals also have the same number of points but Chennai have a better net run-rate.
