RCB enjoyed a comfortable position in the first phase of IPL 2021 as the Virat Kohli-led side won five of their first seven matches in India. The team stood at third place in the points table when the first season was abruptly suspended. However, the second leg of the tournament has begun on a rough note for the RCB fans. The deep batting lineup of RCB collapsed early in their first game and the players could only manage up to 92 runs in the first innings which is also the lowest score for this year’s IPL. KKR, batting second, chased the score in just 10 overs.
Also read: IPL 2021 PHASE 2: BCCI STRENGTHENS COVID-19 PROTOCOLS FOR A SAFE CONCLUSION OF TOURNAMENT
“We were 42 odd for one and then lost about five wickets within 20 runs, which is a very difficult situation to come back from. Bit of a collapse there for us, a bit of a wake-up call and might as well have this at the start of the second leg so that we know exactly what we need to work on,” Kohli remarked in the post-match press conference.
“It was important to get a good partnership on this surface. You can’t afford to lose four or five wickets within 20 runs. We didn’t expect that much dew to kick in so early, we couldn’t have predicted that. You can make the argument that we were rusty but as professional cricketers, you are expected to turn up and adjust to the formats, that’s the dynamic of world cricket today. We have never found any troubles doing that but sometimes it can take you a game to get into the tournament. You have to stay with the 8-ball, especially in this format. If not, then the other team is going to be all over you.”
Complimenting Varun Chakravarthy, a spinner from KKR for his extremely economical bowling spell of 3/13, Kohli said that Chakravarthy would be a key factor when he plays for the Indian national team. He further added that a similar performance by youngsters would boost the bench strength of Indian cricket. “And, he’s someone who is going to play in the near future for India and it’s a great sign,” the Indian captain further added.
Despite a wide margin loss, RCB has retained its third spot on the points table of IPL 2021 while KKR has climbed to the sixth position.
