Virat Kohli issues stern message to the RCB squad after defeat against KKR

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fought well to try and chase down a challenging target of 201 set by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), but in the end, it was a fine display from the Kolkata spinners that stalled RCB’s progress to see them finish short of the finish line by 21 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

RCB’s issues began right from the start as KKR’s opening duo of Jason Roy and Narayan Jagadeesan scored 66 runs from the powerplay. After both of them perished, Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana provided a late flourish to allow KKR to slot in a total of 200 on the scorecard.

Chasing 201 to win, RCB lost Faf du Plessis, Shahbaz Ahamad and Glenn Maxwell pretty early in the innings that left a lot of work to be done, with skipper Virat Kohli still at the crease. Despite his half-century and a counter-attacking knock from Mahipal Lomror, RCB failed to cross the finish line.

In the post-match interview, Kohli had a stern message for all his players, decoding the reason why it all went downtown for RCB. Virat said, “To be honest, we handed over the game to them. We deserved to lose. We weren't professional enough. We bowled well but fielding was not up to standard. This was a freebie handed over to them. In the field, we dropped two chances, that cost us 25-30 runs.”

He shed some light on RCB’s batting as well, adding, “When batting, we set us ourselves up very well, but then four-five soft dismissals. Not wicket-taking balls but we hit straight to the fielders. Even while chasing, after losing wickets, one partnership brought us back into the game. We were one partnership short. We need to stay switched on, and not give away soft plays.”

RCB will be next in action on 1st May when they travel to Lucknow to clash with KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants and Virat Kohli will be hoping that the men in Red and Gold return to winning ways.