IPL 2021: "Royal Challengers Bangalore fearless and confident in the crucial moments" - Virat Kohli praises teammates after comprehensive win over Rajasthan Royals
Virat Kohli was a happy man after the Royal Challengers Bangalore thrashed the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021. This all but secures their place in the playoffs. It was a remarkable comeback win for RCB, who made a poor start with the ball and were staring at a target of 200+ at one point. RR were at 91/1 in 10 overs in the first innings.
But the RCB bowlers restricted the Rajasthan Royals to 149/9 and chased the target quite comfortably in the end. Speaking after the game, Kohli praised his team for showing fearlessness and not giving up despite going behind early in the game.
"We have come back strongly in two games back-to-back with the ball," Kohli said. "Which is a great sign. We know if you can hold your nerve with the ball you're going in the right direction.
'In both games the opponents were 56/0 in the powerplay, but in both games we took wickets to ensure the opposition does not get away. We knew that with the kind of bowling attack we have, things can open up when we take wickets."
'We've got the rewards because we've been fearless and confident in the moments that the game can go either way. The boys have stepped up, so that's been key for us. The break was tough as you saw initially. Slowly but surely we are getting in groove. All departments are coming together nicely."
Virat Kohli's decision to bowl first works like a charm against the Rajasthan Royals
Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl first and for a while his decision looked to be a really poor one. Evin Lewis got the Rajasthan Royals off to a flying start. It looked like they would get close to 200 runs on the board. But Royal Challengers Bangalore pulled things back brilliantly in the second half of Rajasthan's innings and restricted them to a score of just 149/9.
RCB made light work of the run-chase and got the job done with three overs to spare. With this win, the Virat Kohli-led side are all but assured of a place in the IPL play-offs. Kohli will be hoping that they can go all the way and end their IPL trophy drought this season as the curtain comes down on his reign as captain.