IPL 2019 | We are not playing club cricket, says Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore required 17 in the final over of the match which was bowled by Mumbai Indians' Lasith Malinga. Shivam Dube’s maximum in the first ball and a single in the next four balls meant that RCB would require 7 off the last ball. The RCB camp sank when Dube could only manage one of the final delivery, but the replays showed that Malinga had bowled a no ball, which sent shockwaves into the crowd, and left Kohli fuming.

“We are playing at the IPL level and not playing club cricket. The umpires should have had their eyes open. That is a ridiculous call (last ball). If it is a game of margins, I don’t know what is happening. They should have been more sharp and careful out there,” expressed Virat Kohli, in the post match presentation.

The Gary Kirsten-coached team looked in good stead in the pursuit of their target of 188 as Kohli and AB de Villiers were scoring at a good rate. They required 75 off 42 to win the match when the MI skipper Rohit Sharma brought in the usual suspect Jasprit Bumrah who managed to clinch Kohli’s wicket as he looked to take him on. De Villiers hit some big shots there after but received no support from his teammates.

"A few more strikes apart from AB could have done the job for us. We need to be smarter at death bowling. Sure they guys will take a lot of learnings from the game,” the RCB skipper said.

The Bengaluru-based franchise had put Mumbai Indians to bat and after a flourishing start from the openers with 52 runs in the powerplay, the Mahela Jayawardene-coached team lost steam to slip to 147/7 in the start of the 18th over. However, Hardik Pandya came to the team’s rescue as he smashed 32 runs off 14 balls, which even included three towering sixes off Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj, which took the team’s total to a challenging 187.

“When they were 145 (147) for 7, we should have done better. The last few overs were brutal for us,” said Kohli.

"I think the way they bowled, we can learn from their game. The onus is always on each and every member of the team. I got out at a wrong point of time. Shivam was good as well. I mean Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) is a top-class bowler. A bit of a mistake from me to take him on at that stage. Mumbai is lucky to have him. And also Malinga. And if Jassi is in good form, it is good for India."

Rohit Sharma was also very critical of the umpires and did not fail to point out towards a harsh wide decision in the 19th over which was also Bumrah’s final over. The ball had started from the wide line but had slid in later after gripping the pitch.

“I just got to know when we crossed the rope. Somebody just told me it was a no-ball. These kind of mistakes are not good for the game of cricket, it’s pretty simple, the over before that. Bumrah bowled a ball which wasn’t a wide ball. Those are game-changers. There’s a TV up there, they have to watch what’s happening. It is as simple as it is. Players can’t do much. The only thing they can do is walk off and shake hands because it was the last ball. It’s disappointing to see that. I hope they rectify their mistakes like we do when we make mistakes,” signed off Sharma.