IPL 2021: “Should hurt that we gave away a great opportunity” - Virat Kohli to RCB after CSK loss

Addressing the team after Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) six-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday, captain Virat Kohli said the defeat must hurt as they gave away a great opportunity.

RCB were 111 for no loss after 13 overs while batting first in the match against CSK. However, they failed to accelerate and only ended up posting 156 for 6. CSK chased down the target in 18.1 overs.

Speaking to the team after the defeat, RCB skipper Kohli stated that the lost opportunity would be acceptable in case the team is winning to learn from their mistakes.

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Kohli said in a video shared on RCB’s official Twitter handle:

“Giving a game away, when we know that we could have put them under pressure, it should hurt everyone. If we are looking to win this tournament and go all the way, it should hurt guys that we gave away a great opportunity. It is acceptable as long as we are willing to learn from it. Be hungry to improve on it. That’s all I ask for.”

Director of cricket and coach Mike Hesson added that RCB were at least 20 runs short with the bat. He stressed on the need to improve the finishing part with the willow in hand. Hesson said:

“170 would have been a very good score on that surface. Everybody saw that it got harder and harder to bat as the ball got soft. 6 for 66 in the last 10, we would have wanted 15-20 more. I don’t think it was a 185 pitch but we certainly wanted a few more.”

He further pointed out that dew wasn’t a factor, so RCB were very much in the game. Hesson added:

“From a batting point of view, we set an outstanding platform. To get to 111 without loss in 13 overs, especially with skip (skipper Kohli) and Dev (Devdutt Padikkal), it was a pretty good start. We don’t want to gloss over that. It's fair to say, we weren’t able to quite finish the innings off with the bat.”

After Kohli’s dismissal at the score of 111 in the 14th over, RCB were only able to score 45 runs while losing five wickets.

“Should be disappointed with the amount of full balls that we bowled” - RCB coach

According to Hesson, like the batting in the second half, the bowling also let down RCB. He explained that most bowlers were too full on a surface were they should have held the ball back a bit. Hesson stated:

“It was pretty apparent that if you bowled back of a length, it was pretty hard to time the ball. Whenever we bowled full, they were able to take toll against both spinners and pace. It was within our control, in terms of the areas that we bowled. As a bowling unit, we should be disappointed with the amount of full balls that we bowled on that surface, which ended up in so much (runs).”

Looking forward to the Mumbai Indians (MI) challenge, the 46-year-old said that they need to play much better cricket. Hesson concluded:

“In terms of momentum, it is easy to get back. It's not that difficult, it's just about playing a little bit better. Rather than momentum, winning or losing is about playing better cricket. We need to take ownership of our execution. We have to move on and show our plans for Mumbai Indians.”

RCB will take on defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday in Dubai.