IPL 2018| Virat Kohli praises bowlers after RCB’s victory against KXIP
After Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first win of this year’s IPL, skipper Virat Kohli credited the bowlers for their effort and said that they showed great composure. Kohli has also admitted that the first home game is always very crucial and he was very happy to get first points on the board.
Royal Challengers Bangalore have been one of the under-achievers of the IPL. They have boasted of some of the biggest names of the game of cricket, but haven’t been able to win the silverware once even after reaching the finals thrice. After finishing with the wooden spoon last season, RCB are hoping that this season would change their fortunes.
After a disappointing performance in the first game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) got their first points of the season on the board as they beat Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by 4 wickets and 3 balls to spare. The bowlers were disappointing in the first game as they failed to defend 176 against KKR, but put their hand up and delivered a good performance. It was a collective performance from the RCB bowlers as all the 5 bowlers used picked up at least one wicket. Hence, skipper Kohli was all praise for his bowlers.
“We are very happy to get on the board. First home game is very crucial always. We were decent in the first game and we improved on it. We knew the new ball will come on nicely. The bowlers showed composure. Umesh took three wickets and blocked the momentum. Credit to Umesh (Yadav), Washington Sundar, Chris Woakes, and Kulwant Khejroliya. Once you have five bowlers, you can pick and choose later. We wanted to give them more responsibility,” Kohli was quoted saying by CricketNext.
Umesh Yadav, in particular, was brilliant as he took three wickets in one over to turn the game on its head. He picked up the wickets of Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch and Yuvraj Singh in his second over to break the back of KXIP’s batting line-up.
“I just back myself and I just practised in the nets. I was bowling quick and at the stumps. Sometimes I try too many variations but Ashish Nehra wants me to keep it simple. I am just trying my best to bowl a hard length and into the wicket. I enjoyed Yuvraj Singh’s wicket. That was the best,” Umesh Yadav who was the man of the Match said.
Meanwhile, there was a lot of talk surrounding the pitch as the 22-yard strip at the Chinnaswamy Stadium was out of character last season as it produced some low-scoring games. However, it seemed that the Bangalore pitch was close to its best (as it was in 2016) and hence, KXIP who scored 155 were about 15 runs short.
“I am proud of the way the boys fought. We were probably 20-30 runs short. We go down, we go down like this. The pressure is on RCB as they have the big players. I can’t ask for anything more from the boys” KXIP skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said.
