IPL 2019 | Need to keeep composure under pressure, says Virat Kohli

04/16/2019

Royal Challengers Bangalore were on the brink of a much-needed victory in their eighth encounter against Mumbai Indians, but Hardik Pandya shattered hopes with some monstrous hitting. RCB lost momentum in the final overs and Virat Kohli has urged his side to keep a calm head under crunch situations.

Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered yet another tragic defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians on Monday at Wankhede Stadium, which is also their seventh in eight games this season. RCB continued to be the bottom-dwellers in the points table as their chances of making it to the playoffs are rather bleak now.

Skipper Virat Kohli felt that his side needed to hold their nerves under crunch situations and convert the half chances into an opportunity to win the remainder of the games in the tournament. On the back of AB de Villiers’ scintillating knock, RCB posted a challenging total of 171 for Mumbai Indians, which they gunned down in 19 overs.

RCB pacers hardly posed a threat with the ball and leaked ample of runs in the first six overs. The spinners did a fantastic job in the middle overs to swing the momentum back in RCB’s favour. With the surface offering turn and two right-handed batsmen at the crease, Kohli tossed the ball to left-arm spinner Pawan Negi in the 19th over. The move didn’t pay off as Hardik Pandya came out hard and the bowler too erred in length. However, Kohli backed his decision to let Negi put in the hard yards in the crunch situation.

“At the end, we had to take the risk with the left-arm spinner, with two right-handed batsmen. Giving pace was risky, especially with a bit of dew. Unfortunately, it didn't come off," said Kohli, reported IANS.

English all-rounder Moeen Ali was the shining star with the bat as well as with the ball. He scored a brisk fifty to provide the much-needed impetus to RCB’s innings and bagged two crucial wickets with the ball.

"He's (Moeen) been outstanding. Striking the ball well and bowling with a lot of heart. It's good to see a senior player taking responsibility and he deserves all the credit," said Kohli.

"We just have to enjoy ourselves, play the way we did in the last two games. We need to keep our composure under pressure."