Published: May 06, 2017, 08:39 AM (IST)
Edited: May 06, 2017, 08:40 AM (IST)
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) continued their downward spiral in the ongoing Indian Premier league (IPL) 2017. Match No.43 saw them bundle out for 119 runs chasing a mere 139 to win against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in their home ground at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Their batting unit collectively failed again to kick-in after stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Kedar Jadhav added peanuts to the run chase. This is now the fifth time that RCB has folded under 140-run mark. Kohli, in the post-match presentation ceremony, seemed hapless to say the least regarding his side’s poor show in IPL 10. Full Cricket Scorecard, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2017, Match 43
“The whole squad is playing in that zone. We are not able to get a big score. Someone is playing well and others aren’t, and losing wickets in a hurry. I can’t really pinpoint anything,” he explained. Kohli further opened up about how a string of losses has taken a toll on the players’ motivation. “Guys do what they need to do to prepare themselves but what matters is what we do on the field. This season is totally against to what we wanted to do. Difficult to find motivation when we are playing like this,” he stated.
“We are trying to be positive but things aren’t coming together for us. Preparation has been similar to last year,” Kohli gasped.
Kohli did vent out his frustration at the batting unit in between. “Bowlers were good again today; we let ourselves down with the bat. Haven’t witnessed something like this; so many batting collapses in a season, it hurts. We didn’t plan anything specifically for any bowler,” Kohli taunted.
Signing off, Kohli did give credit where it was due. “Yeah, he (Sandeep) hit the right areas. If you see AB’s dismissal, he smokes those balls more often than not. We have played with intent in the past, we haven’t played with intent, but both haven’t worked. Credit to him – all three deliveries were good length balls,’ Kohli concluded.
