Royal Challengers Bengaluru veteran batter Virat Kohli was delighted after they registered an 11-run win against Rajasthan Royals at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Thursday in the ongoing IPL 2025. Kohli said the plan for him was to bat through the innings and allow the other batter to take more chances.
The talisman continued his good form, scoring 70 runs off just 42 balls with the help of eight fours and two sixes. Devdutt Padikkal also continued his rich form as he scored 50 runs off 27 balls. The duo added 95 runs for the second wicket to put RCB in front.
Kohli said it was crucial for them to assess the pitch conditions in the early overs and then take their risks accordingly.
Kohli said while talking to the official broadcasters after the game, “The first challenge here (at this venue) is to win toss and second half it becomes a bit of a advantage, we have been fighting hard to get a good score in the first few games, but the template today was for one guy to bat through and the rest of the batters can go attacking and today it really paid off. There is pace and bounce in the first 3-4 overs and I think we tried to force too many shots in the last 3 games and today we let the ball come and adjusted ourselves and we were able to capitalise on those. We figured out a way to bat now and in the next few home games, we should be in a better position to get those extra 15-20 runs.”
Meanwhile, RR got off to a flying start as they scored 72 runs in the Powerplay overs with Yashasvi Jaiswal doing the bulk of the damage, scoring a blistering 49 off 19 balls.
The RCB opener gave credit to the opposition for coming out all guns blazing but he was delighted with the way they clawed back in the game.
Kohli concluded, “Pretty happy, we discussed a few things as a batting unit and applied ourselves well enough to get a total on the board. The dew really helped in the second half, credit to RR they came out and played good shots ,but to claw our way back and get those 2 points was really crucial.”
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next take on Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Sunday.
