[In Pictures] Virat Kohli hugs and consoles Dinesh Karthik after RCB's heartbreaking loss vs RR in Eliminator of IPL 2024

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stalwart Virat Kohli consoled his teammate Dinesh Karthik after the team's heartbreaking defeat against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Eliminator clash of IPL 2024 on Wednesday (May 22). The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosted this contest.

After a poor start to the season, RCB made a stellar comeback with six straight wins to make it to the playoffs. They batted first in the Eliminator after losing the toss and notched up a decent total of 172/8 in 20 overs. Virat Kohli (33), Rajat Patidar (34), Mahipal Lomror (32), and Cameron Green (27) performed well for them but could not play big knocks. In his final inningss, Dinesh Karthik got out for 11 (13).

Rajasthan Royals then chased down the target in 19 overs to seal their place in Qualifier 2. RCB had their moments in the second innings, but they eventually suffered a dismal loss. It was a sad ending for Dinesh Karthik, who recently opened up about his plans to hang up his boots after RCB's campaign in IPL 2024. Virat Kohli was spotted consoling and hugging Karthik after the match as their team's journey concluded disappointingly.

You can watch the duo's emotional hug in the below posts:

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"We knew we had to be more than the score we got"- RCB captain Faf du Plessis after a 4-wicket defeat vs RR in IPL 2024 encounter

At the post-match conference, Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Faf du Plessis reviewed his team's performance in the match and season, saying:

"We knew we had to be more than the score we got to challenge them but on a normal occasion it was a par score. I am extremely proud. A lot of other teams, the wheels would have probably fallen off after one from nine (eight games)."

Du Plessis also lauded his teammates for showing wonderful fighting spirit. He continued:

"Credit to the boys to fight and give everything we have. To come back like that, six games in a row, takes a lot of heart and character. It's a sad ending - when it goes like that (six wins in a row) you wonder if it's possibly written in the stars and if there's something special.

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