Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli says his bowlers should have done better by not bowling those ‘too many’ boundary balls, especially in the Powerplay where he felt the ‘X-factor’ was missing. On Friday, RCB succumbed to their fourth defeat of IPL 2021 as Chennai Super Kings romped to a six-wicket win at the Sharjah International Cricket Stadium.
In chase of 157, CSK made a bright start thanks to their opening pair of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis who 71 runs - 59 of them came in the first six overs.
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“The pitch had a lot to offer but our bowlers could not make use," Kohli said during a post-match interview. “They (CSK) got away with too many boundary opportunities. They bowled well in their back end and executed the yorkers when needed."
He continued, “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."
Kohli also pointed out how RCB were “15-20 runs" short of what would have been an ideal total considering the start they got. Openers Devdutt Padikkal and Kohli added 111 runs between them before they slipped in the final two overs, losing three wickets for the addition of just six runs.
This was RCB’s fourth defeat of the season but they don’t have to press the panic button, yet. “Got to get on that winning run again. This one is a bit more disappointing. The first one we just weren’t in the game. Have to show more courage in crunch moments. This tournament goes by quickly," Kohli said.
CSK, on the other hand, have reclaimed the top spot in the IPL points table with their seventh win of the season.
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