Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper, Virat Kohli revealed that he had the belief for successfully defending a 150-run target that they set for SRH was a winning one. RCB batsmen struggled on a sluggish pitch, only managed to reach the score of 149/8 in their 20 overs, and SRH looked like they were cruising towards a win at 96/1 after 13 overs with David Warner well set. But three wickets in the 17th over of Shahbaz Ahmed, turned the game on its head as SRH suffered an incredible collapse and RCB eked out a thrilling win.
Speaking in the post-match presser, Virat Kohli said, “I told them if we’ve struggled to 149, it will be tougher for the opposition. I truly believed we could win with 150. The wicket was never a belter and tonight our execution under pressure was spot-on. It was a top game for us and probably it will get tougher and tougher here.”
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He further added, ” You saw it in KKR vs MI – you’re never really out of the game. Those extra options made the impact performances in the middle overs. The wicket kept getting tougher and tougher with the old ball. It’s about getting momentum in the first six overs, but for us, Maxi gave us that momentum and got us closer to 150.”
Glenn Maxwell played a match-winning knock of 59 off 41 deliveries, with a late assault on the SRH bowlers, he helped RC to reach the defendable total. Kohli also praised Harshal Patel, who came up with another phenomenal bowling performance at the death, a role that the RCB management had in mind for him when they traded him in from Delhi Capitals.
Talking about Harshal, Kohli said, “We have a clear plan and backing our players. Got Harshal from Delhi for a role.”
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Harshal gave just 25 runs from his four overs and managed to scalp a couple of wickets to help RCB pull off the unlikely heist. The win saw RCB move to reach the no.1 position at the points table, having won both their opening fixtures.
