IPL: Royal Challengers Bangalore lose vs Gujarat Lions, Virat Kohli gutted
Virat Kohli has rued a lack of intent from Royal Challengers Bangalore after their seven-wicket thrashing by Gujarat Lions put them virtually out of contention for a play-off spot in the 2017 Indian Premier League
Virat Kohli has rued a lack of intent by the Royal Challengers Bangalore team after they suffered a seven-wicket loss against the Gujarat Lions in the 2017 Indian Premier League at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday. (IPL 2017 full coverage)
The RCB skipper said after the Royal Chellengers Bangalore vs Gujarat Lions match: “We were not clinical. You have to come out and play with intent. You need some luck going your way. The only way you can come out of it is by playing positive cricket.”
Positive cricket was missing in the approach of Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Gujarat Lions. The batsmen put up an insipid display to be bowled out for 134 and Gujarat Lions were powered by a 34-ball 72 from Aaron Finch, handing Virat Kohli’s side a heavy loss which virtually put them out of the play-off race.
In this edition of the IPL, the likes of Chris Gayle, Kohli and AB de Villiers have under-performed slightly. Gayle, in particular, has managed only 152 runs at an average of 25.33. De Villiers has managed only 61 runs in four games after smashing 89* against Kings XI Punjab while Kohli has hit two fifties in five games. The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper said the players were hesitant to try out different things, which was affecting their results.
“We should enjoy the tournament. We are putting too much of pressure on ourselves as a team. Individuals have to take responsibility. It should not be the same two-three guys performing all the time,” Kohli said.
After spinner Samuel Badree took two quick wickets, that of Ishan Kishan and Brendon McCullum, Finch blasted a fifty off just 22 balls, the fastest by a Gujarat Lions batsman ever, to take the game away from RCB. Kohli praised Finch’s knock and said he stood up to the pressure well.
“Finch played a fantastic knock. In a small chase, it is important for one guy to step up and he did. He did not give us any chance of coming back into the game,” the RCB skipper said.
Kohli was positive that Royal Challengers Bangalore would engineer a turn-around with only five league games to go, but the hopes are getting slimmer.