After a massive 59-run defeat against Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli feels that fielding and the death bowling are the two areas where the side needs improvement.
In the 15th over, Yuzvendra Chahal dropped a simple catch of Marcus Stoinis when he was batting at 30 runs which ended up costly for the side as he went on to amass 53 off 26 balls to guide Capitals to 196/4 in 20 overs.
"I think they got off to a great start in the first six then we pulled it back in the next 8 overs and the last phase again got away from us. Those important chances in between, we need to grab when the opportunity comes our way, it is not like we are dropping half chances, we are dropping sitters and those things hurt you. The execution with the ball towards the end could have been better and with the bat as well," Kohli told the host broadcaster Star Sports after the match.
According to Kohli, it was not a 'complete performance' by the RCB in any department.
After being asked to bat first, Delhi Capitals got off to a brilliant start with openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan smashing regular boundaries. The duo took the team over the 50-run mark in the fifth over.
Both formed a 68-run partnership before Mohammed Siraj dismissed Shaw, who played a knock of 42 runs from 23 balls. Soon after that, Isuru Udana sent Dhawan (32) back to the pavilion.
Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer then took the field but their partnership also did not last long as the latter scored 11 runs before Moeen Ali got hold of him.
Stoinis then joined Pant on the field and the duo took the team over the 100-run mark. They both played with an attacking mindset, helping the team go past 150 runs in the 17th over.
Their 89-run partnership was brought to an end by Siraj as the pacer bowled Pant (37) in the 19th over.
In the same over, Stoinis struck a spectacular boundary to complete his half-century off 24 balls.
"Not a complete performance in any regard today. We were quite aggressive with the new ball, Prithvi and Shikhar batted really well. I think Prithvi took the game on and we expected that we kept a catching position and even tried to pick a wicket with the spinner. We got into the game after the first six and then Stoinis batted really well in the end, we gave him a life, he took the game away from us," Kohli said.
Chasing a formidable target of 197, RCB did not have a solid start as both the openers failed to score big runs. Spinner R Ashwin in third over provided the first wicket as he scalped in-form Devdutt Padikkal (4).
After being dropped on two occasions earlier by Rabada and Shikhar Dhawan, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant finally caught Aaron Finch (13) off Axar Patel in the fourth over.
Skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers added a brief partnership of 16-run for the third wicket. Anrich Nortje in his second over got rid of the South African swashbuckling batsman. De Villiers (9) was caught by Shikhar Dhawan in the last over of the powerplay.
Moeen Ali, playing his first game this season, then joined Kohli in the middle. The duo added 32-run for the fourth wicket. The partnership was broken by Axar in the 12th over. Ali scored 11 runs.
Washington Sundar then joined Kohli in the middle. Shreyas Iyer introduced Rabada back in the attack in 14th over and he claimed the much-needed dismissal of Kohli. He was caught behind the stumps by Pant after scoring 43 runs.
Shivam Dube and Sundar stitched 21-run for the sixth wicket before the latter was sent back to the pavilion by Rabada in the 16th over. Sundar played a knock of 17 runs. Dube (11) failed to leave his mark on the scoreboard and was bowled by Rabada in the 18th over.
In the same over, Rabada dismissed Isuru Udana (1). RCB failed to get over the line and were restricted at 137/9 in their allotted twenty overs.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 196/4 (Marcus Stoinis 53*, Prithvi Shaw 42, Mohammed Siraj 2/34) defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore 137/9 (Virat Kohli 43, Kagiso Rabada 4/24, Axar Patel 2/18) by 59 runs.
( With inputs from ANI )
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