Virat Kohli opens up on RCB’s future prospects: RCB captain was vocal about what lied ahead after seventh loss in IPL 2019.
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Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore succumbed to another defeat in IPL 2019. In what was their second of the season against Mumbai Indians, it was their seventh overall.
To their credit, RCB played a much better brand of cricket tonight than they had put on display during their earlier losses. Speaking during the post-match presentation, Royal Challengers captain Virat Kohli rued the fact that his bowlers conceded 67 runs in the powerplay but was pleased by their comeback in the middle overs.
“We played a pretty good game I guess. With the ball, we weren’t that great in the first six overs but the guys fought hard in the middle overs and came back well,” Kohli was quoted as saying.
Should Negi have been given the 19th over?
The equation for Mumbai had dropped down to needing 22 runs in the last two overs. It was at this point that in-form all-rounder scored the given amount of runs in one Pawan Negi over.
With all their fast bowlers having overs remaining under their belt, Kohli handed the ball to all-rounder Negi. Animated RCB bowling coach Ashish Nehra was seen gesturing to the captain regarding the same.
Admitting that the move didn’t work, Kohli said, “At the end, we had to take the risk with the left-arm spinner, with two right-handed batsmen. Giving pace was risky, especially with a bit of dew. Unfortunately, it didn’t come off.”
“Moeen had been outstanding”
After Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and put the visitors in to bat, RCB thrived on the back of a 95-run partnership between AB de Villiers (75) and Moeen Ali (50) for the third wicket. The latter also changed the course of the match with the ball in hand dismissing MI openers in Sharma (28) and Quinton de Kock (40) in the same over.
Being asked about the English cricketer, Kohli was pleased by the senior player taking responsibility for RCB. “He’s [Moeen Ali] been outstanding. Striking the ball well and bowling with a lot of heart. It’s good to see a senior player taking responsibility and he deserves all the credit,” Kohli added.
“We just have to enjoy ourselves”
With a lone win in eight matches, RCB have gone into a decline at the bottom of the points table. In a bid to qualify for the playoffs, the franchise will have to win all the six remaining matches and still be dependent on the net run rate.
“We just have to enjoy ourselves, play the way we did in the last two games. Need to keep our composure under pressure. Need to take half-chances. Take those half-chances. The catch that went down off Hardik could have been a game-changer,” Kohli further added on being asked about what lies ahead of Bangalore.
