Watch: Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers record a special video for RCB fans
It was a night to cherish for all the fans of the Royal Challengers Bangalore as the team finally managed to get off the mark in the ongoing IPL. Having lost six games on the trot, the men from down South had their backs to the wall when they took on the Kings XI Punjab in a do or die encounter in Mohali.
Choosing to bowl first, RCB managed to restrict KXIP to 173, despite a blistering 99* from Chris Gayle. Coming out to chase the target, the visitors were helped by splendid knocks from Virat Kohli (67 off 53 balls) and AB de Villiers (59* off 38 balls) to romp home to victory by a margin of 8 wickets.
The much-awaited win has triggered celebrations from the RCB fans all across and the players too, were visibly relieved to get their campaign up and running. To make the win all the more special, two of the team's most iconic players, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, recorded a special video to send out a vote of thanks to the fans and their relentless support.
Speaking on the occasion, skipper Virat Kohli shared, "To all our loyal fans, who have been with the team, standing behind us for six games. I think this goes out to them more than the players because of the support over so many years and especially this year has been so tough. So, we are more happy for the fans and we want to dedicate this victory to you."
AB de Villiers, who was adjudged as the Man of the Match for his match-winning knock, said,
"To all the RCBians out there around the world, we are exceptionally relieved with a win finally. We crossed the line and hopefully, that's a sign of things to come. We know it's going to be a lot of hard work but going by the way we set up this game tonight, hopefully, we'll do the same thing in Mumbai at the Wankhede stadium and who knows what can happen? Miracles have happened before. We are definitely committed to doing something special but one step at a time. Thanks for being there for us."
In their next encounter, RCB will be locking horns with the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium on 15 April.