IPL 2021: ‘Aggressive and optimistic bowling was key’ – Virat Kohli lauds bowling unit as RCB remain unbeaten in IPL 14
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Virat Kohli
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) continued their dream run in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 as they notched up their fourth win of the season. Batting woes continued to haunt Rajasthan Royals (RR) as RCB handed them a ten wicket loss. The game saw young gun Devdutt Padikkal return to form following couple of low scores.
The Karnataka opener slammed a scintillating ton to announce his return. Padikkal struck 101 runs off 52 balls as RCB chased down the total with 21 balls to spare. RCB skipper Virat Kohli was all praises for the young gun. Kohli feels that Padikkal has put all the criticism around his strike rate last season to rest with a whirlwind innings.
“It was an outstanding innings, he batted really well for his first season last time as well. Bit of a talk about accelerating after 40-50, this was the best way to put it to rest. Great talent, great one to look forward in the future. I had the best seat in the house,” Kohli said following the game.
“We spoke about it [the 100], he said finish it off. He said many more to come, I told him you tell me that after you get the first one. I want him to build from here and really help the team. He deserved to get the hundred today, flawless innings.“
“I would just tell the fans not to get overexcited,” Virat Kohli
The opening stand of Kohli and Padikkal was all it took at the end for RCB to chase down the total. The RCB skipper played the anchor in the 180 run opening stand while Padikkal took on the aggressive role. Kohli feels that it is important for players to complement one another in a partnership.
“I think T20 is all about partnership batting. You can’t always be the guy going dominant. When one guy goes, it’s important for me to rotate strike, and vice versa. Tonight my role was different and I wanted to hang in there. In the end I picked my spots, the pitch was good,” Kohli adds.
With the ball in hand, RCB bowlers were exceptional yet again this season. The likes of Harshal Patel and Mohammed Siraj scalped three wickets each to restrict Rajasthan to just 177. Kohli feels that it was the bowlers who proved key in winning the game, their fourth on the trot. Kohli is overjoyed that RCB’s long-standing struggle in the death overs has come to an end.
“We don’t have many stand-out names in bowlers, but we have effective bowlers. Guys who can do it day in day out. Four out of four times we’ve been the stand-out team in the death overs. We actually restricted 30-35 runs.“
“Dev’s innings was outstanding, but for me the bowling which was aggressive, optimistic was key. I would just tell the fans not to get overexcited, we are being professional, we understand the momentum can go away from us quickly. One step at a time, not getting overexcited,” he signs off.
Also Read: IPL 2021: T Natarajan to miss rest of the tournament with knee injury – Reports
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Anshuman Mahapatra
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