Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli has said that they could do well with the bat. And, he held his team’s batting responsible for their 34-run defeat against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Friday. Kohli himself scored 35 off 34 and added that 60-65 runs loss would have hurt them more as well.
He again shared that a higher strike rate was needed to chase down the 180-run target. However, he also applauded Punjab Kings’ bowling unit which restricted Royal Challenger Bangalore’s run-chase quite well by reducing them from 62/1 to 69/4.
“They got off to a decent start and we pulled things back decently. Probably gave away 25 too much at the end, should have been chasing 160. Had a chat around executing our plans, which we did, but at the end we strayed away. With the bat we never got the momentum, they bowled well to be honest. Just kept the pressure going. But as batsmen as well we could have tried more things at the start. It was tough to hit through the line. It was about making a partnership and making sure you’re there to keep getting the boundaries, bat at a strike rate of at least 110. We didn’t manage to do that. We understand the areas where we lost momentum,” Virat Kohli said.
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Kohli also backed the middle-order batsman Rajat Patidar, who played a crucial 30-ball 31, after coming to bat at number three. However, Kohli called him a quality player, citing that he controlled RCB innings against Delhi Capitals too. However, their middle-order failed miserably where both Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers couldn’t reach the double-digit.
“The composition of our team is such that someone like Rajat, if you see the last game, controlled the game for us. We give him that freedom and sometimes it doesn’t work out. Maxi and AB at 4 and 5 has worked well for us, when there’s a partnership early, one of them will come off. Didn’t work today but Rajat’s a quality player. A bit of a positive at the end, pulled things back nicely. Harshal and Jamo struck a few at the end. A loss off 60-65 would’ve hurt more,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
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RCB will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday.
