Kohli's Brutal Honesty! RCB skipper Admits the team 'Deserved to Lose'

Virat Kohli, the stand-in captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, openly acknowledged that his team deserved to lose due to their lack of precision in their performance against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite the Knight Riders' recent struggles, they clinched their second victory over RCB in IPL 2023, extending their impressive streak of five consecutive wins against the Bangalore-based franchise in the tournament.

Despite Virat Kohli's impressive half-century, his fifth of the season, the Royal Challengers Bangalore's batting lineup failed to provide him with the necessary support. As a result, they succumbed to the mounting pressure during the challenging chase. Following his team's dismal performance, the 34-year-old cricketer was brutally honest and conceded that their defeat was well-deserved. He acknowledged the impact of dropping crucial catches in the outfield, which contributed to Kolkata Knight Riders reaching a formidable total of 200/5 in 20 overs.

What did RCB skipper Virat Kohli say?

“To be honest we handed them the game. We did deserve to lose. We handed them a victory. We were certainly not up to standard. If you look at the game, we didn’t capitalise on our chances. We dropped a few chances which cost us 25-30 runs.”

Virat

While Virat Kohli formed a significant partnership with Mahipal Lomror, the lack of further alliances became a major setback for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Kohli expressed disappointment, stating that they were just one partnership away from securing victory. He specifically highlighted his dissatisfaction with some of the soft dismissals from his batsmen.

Continuing further, he said,

“We set up ourselves really well. We ended up hitting the fielder to balls which weren’t wicket-taking. It is what’s on the scoreboard and how to get them. Even while chasing, despite losing wickets we were one partnership away from being in the game. We needed one partnership to get us home. We need to be switched on and not give away soft plays.”

Emphasising the significance of winning away matches, Kohli expressed his team's eagerness to embrace the challenge ahead. He stated,

“We have won one and lost one on the road. It is not something that is making us nervous. We need to win some away games to be in good shape for the later stages of the tournament.”

RCB’s home matches almost over

This was RCB’s second last match of the season at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Their upcoming schedule will see them play the next five matches on the road before eventually returning to Bengaluru for their final match of the season on May 21.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) made a strong start in their chase of 201 runs, scoring 30 runs without losing a wicket in just two overs. However, their momentum was hindered when Faf du Plessis (17) and Glenn Maxwell (5) were dismissed. Virat Kohli, scoring 54 runs, played a pivotal part in the run chase before Venkatesh Iyer pulled off a breathtaking diving catch at the deep midwicket boundary to dismiss him.

For Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Nitish Rana played a significant innings, scoring a quick 48 runs off 21 balls. Despite being dropped twice, Rana's contribution played a vital role in KKR posting a total of 200/5 after being asked to bat first. In response, RCB managed to reach 179/8, falling short of the target.

In other news, Washington Sundar  ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury