After having started with six back-to-back defeats, Royal Challengers Bangalore have finally started winning in the ongoing season of Indian Premier League (IPL). Bangalore won their last game against Kings XI Punjab on the back of a blistering knock of AB de Villiers (82 off 44) and a quickfire knock from Marcus Stoinis (46 off 34). Captain Virat Kohli praised them for their heroics and further added that they are enjoying on the field rather than taking tension for the playoffs.
“We have now won 4 out of the last 5 we games that we have played, it could have been 5 out of 5. We are just looking to enjoy our cricket. Tonight was another example of having fun. The partnership of ABD and Stoinis changed the match for us,” said Virat Kohli at the post-match presentation.
“At one stage we thought 175 was good but AB and Marcus got us past 200. The way they played was the deciding factor. Our only focus was to play good as a team, we know that we are a good side, losing 6 in a row hurt all of us. None of us had been in such a situation. That big break before Mohali helped us. It is important that we don’t take any pressure. We just need to play how the world knows we can play,” added Kohli.
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While chasing, Punjab got off to a flying start. At one time, the game was on their court when Nicholas Pooran was smashing back-to-back big shots. However, Bangalore bowlers pulled off the things pretty well in the death overs. Navdeep Saini dismissed David Miller and Nicholas Pooran in the penultimate over while Umesh Yadav picked up Ashwin and Viljoen in the final over and Helped the team to win by 17 runs.
“When two left-handers came in, we got a lot of dot balls and that was a crucial factor for us. Having 6-7 bowling options is a luxury for any team. I can pick and choose who is bowling well. Marcus brings in a lot of balance to our team. It was an outstanding effort by the bowlers today,” told Kohli.
AB de Villiers, however, was named the Man of the Match for his blitzy knock of 82* off 44.
“I tried to stay calm in the last few overs. It is not easy always, the game is happening at a rapid pace. We know our home ground very well, it hasn’t been a great hunting ground for us to start with but we are turning things around now. And we are doing things well now. We are doing good as a team now,” said de Villiers.
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“I still think 160 was a par score but it gets easier in the second innings. Our bowlers executed their plans to perfection in the end,” he further said.
