Royal Challengers Bangalore talismanic batter Virat Kohli was delighted after his team’s comprehensive eight-wicket win in their opening match against Mumbai Indians at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. RCB bowlers were right on the money and they restricted MI to 55-4 after 10 overs.
Mumbai Indians’ top order – Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Cameron Green, and Suryakumar Yadav – were all dismissed cheaply. Tilak Varma was the standout MI batter and his knock of 84 runs off just 46 balls helped the visitors in putting 171 runs on the board.
However, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis looked at ease at their batting fortress as they added 148 runs for the opening alliance within the 15 overs. The RCB skipper scored 73 runs from 43 balls whereas Kohli scored an unbeaten knock of 82 runs off just 49 balls. Kohli was elated after the win as they ticked the right boxes and dominated the five-time champions while playing at home.
Virat Kohli said after the win while talking to the official broadcasters, “I thought it was a phenomenal win, a homecoming after 4 years. Couldn’t have asked for a better game. We bowled well for the first 17 overs but then credit to their batters especially Tilak who batted really well. It was a very comprehensive win and we wanted to win with balls to spare as it will benefit the NRR. The new ball was tricky, that’s where we shifted the momentum, they can ride on that momentum from the last two overs of their batting but the way we started nullified all that momentum. We kept the pressure on the bowlers. Phenomenal, it was a packed crowd, every seat was full when we walked in here.
Kohli highlighted that they have played consistent cricket over the years in the IPL and they have made it to the playoff stages on eight occasions. However, RCB hasn’t been able to cross the last hurdle despite making three finals.
He added, “Very important we started off well, their support propelled us and that makes a massive difference. I think he was phenomenal, phenomenal spell from him, that’s brave bowling after getting the left-hander out [on Karn Sharma]. He was bowling so well for us last year but he couldn’t play. Even in the nets he was not getting hit for sixes, hats off to him for coming and playing after so long, to perform against such a strong MI side at the Chinnaswamy is great for him. I wanted to mention this for a while – after MI who have 5 titles and CSK who have 4, if I’m not wrong, we are the third team to have qualified the most times to the playoffs – 8 times. Take one game at a time and try to be a balanced side which we are and we would look to execute our plans as we did tonight.”
RCB will look to build on the momentum of this win in the upcoming matches. The Faf du Plessis-led team will next face KKR at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Thursday.
