IPL 2019 | One of RCB’s worst losses ever, says Virat Kohli after Hyderabad game

Nothing is going right in the12th edition for Royal Challengers Bangalore as they lost their third consecutive game of the season after getting beaten by SRH by a huge margin of 118 runs in Hyderabad. Chasing a target of 232 runs in 50 overs, the visitors were bowled out for a mere 113 in 19.5 overs. After the game, Kohli came out to say that the Bengaluru side was completely outplayed in the last game. 

“One of our worst losses ever. Literally nothing I can explain. Nothing went right for us from ball one until our last wicket fell in the second innings. We were outplayed in all departments by a quality side. They showed that they are a champion side - they were finalists last time and beat us in the final (in 2016),” a disappointed Kohli said after the game, reported PTI.

Being invited to bat first, the Hyderabad side was off to a flying start as both Warner and Bairstow took the RCB bowlers to the cleaners. The duo stitched a mammoth 185-run stand in 16.2 overs to set a perfect base for a huge first-innings total against RCB. Warner remained unbeaten on 100 off just 55 balls while the English wicketkeeper played a 114-run innings before getting dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal.

“Credit to them (Warner and Bairstow). We could have tried a few different things, like taking pace off the ball. But once those guys got in, they just kept going. You need a few things to go your way, and a few catches fell in between fielders. They were world class today and they deserve to be on the winning side,” explained Kohli.

With a huge target in front of them, RCB started off on a poor note by losing both the openers Parthiv Patel and Shimron Hetmyer inside the fourth over with just 20 runs on the board. They tried the Windies batsman at the top of the order yesterday but that strategy didn’t work at all as he managed to score only nine runs. However, the RCB skipper revealed that he had thought of coming out to open as well seeing a big score in front of them to chase.

“We thought about that initially as well (opening the batting). I have done well opening the batting but myself at number 3 brings that balance in the side, given that I can bat with AB (de Villiers) and put the opposition under pressure. We just need our players to put up a better challenge up front. There are still 11 games to go,” said the RCB captain.

RCB will next play Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Tuesday and both the teams would want to open their account on the points table in that game. RCB and RR have lost all three of their games in the season so far and Kohli has said that the team has to bring their best game to ensure a win against the Jaipur-based side tomorrow.

“The pitch will be nice in Jaipur against the Royals. We need to bring our A-game, like we did against Mumbai and play with that kind of intensity. If we go through the motions, we need to do the regular basic stuff, and get results our way and start winning games in the tournament. The next game should be that game for us.”