IPL 2020: 'If you lose three in a row, you can win three in a row as well' - AB de Villiers after RCB's defeat against SRH

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star batsman AB de Villiers has expressed optimism that the franchise can bounce back from three consecutive losses and go on to win the trophy in IPL 2020.

He made this observation in the post-match press conference after the Virat Kohli-led side's defeat against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Post Match Press Conference: RCB v SRH “If we can lose 3 matches in a row, we can surely win 3 matches in a row” - AB de Villiers talks about the turning points, the positives and the plan ahead for RCB. #PlayBold #IPL2020 #WeAreChallengers #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/obPMGp5wL7

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) November 1, 2020

AB de Villiers started by lauding the SRH bowlers for not giving any leeway to the RCB batsmen.

"First of all credit to them, they bowled exceptionally well from the word go. They didn't give us a lot of boundary balls. Their seamers particularly started well in the Powerplay. They didn't make a lot of mistakes and after the Powerplay it didn't get much easier with Rashid who didn't bowl a lot of bad balls either tonight."

He added that the SRH bowlers stuck to their lines and lengths with their excellent fielding while also putting pressure on the RCB batters.

"The SRH bowlers were quite boring out there which was what was required on this wicket. There was enough in the wicket to just do the basics well but they hit top of the stump with the off-cutter and also on a good length and they backed that up with some good fielding."

The former South African skipper pointed out that RCB losing him and Joshua Philippe within a few deliveries of each other turned out to be the turning point of the match. However, he acknowledged that a 140-run target would also not have been enough for RCB to win the match.

"The turning point was probably when Josh and I got out back to back. That cost us probably 20-30 runs if you look at it now which is unfortunate. At the end of the day, it might not have been enough as with the conditions 140 would have been short as well anyway."

Talking about the RCB team composition, Mr. 360 observed that they had fielded a well-balanced outfit while highlighting that they just couldn't post enough runs on the board.

"We had a very good balanced team. We didn't strengthen anything, we had two frontline spinners and four seamers, lots of options with the ball. We had a very good batting lineup which didn't score enough runs today."

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AB de Villiers on the road ahead for RCB

AB de Villiers sounded optimistic of RCB turning things around [P/C: iplt20.com]

While admitting that it is not a great feeling to have lost three consecutive matches, AB de Villiers expressed optimism that RCB can turn things around and go on a winning spree hereafter.

"It is a terrible feeling to lose three in a row. You never want to do that. That is the nature of this tournament, anything can happen. If you lose three in a row, you can win three in a row as well. That will be our thinking moving forward."

He signed off by stating that RCB will be able to get back to winning ways against the Delhi Capitals in their last league match, if they put their best foot forward.

"One game at a time. The Delhi game is a big game, we all know that. We have got to come out with our best cricket on the day and if we do, things will look up very well for us."

The loss against the Sunrisers Hyderabad has put the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a slightly tight spot. While a win against the Delhi Capitals would help them seal a spot in the first qualifier, a reversal could even knock them out of the tournament.

Brilliant from Jason Holder. So #MI will definitely finish at No 1, either #DC or #RCB will go through with 16 and two teams will qualify with 14 points. Wide open. What a climax to the #Dream11IPL.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 31, 2020