Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) came up with a dominating performance, as they annihilated former champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by eight wickets, in Match 39 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. It was pacer Mohammad Siraj's prolific spell of 38 that allowed them to come up with the win.
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Winning the toss, KKR skipper Eoin Morgan elected to bat. However, they were off to a horror start, as they lost four wickets in the powerplay. It was Morgan, who played a brave knock of 30, while Siraj's 38 restricted them to 848 in 20 overs. In reply, RCB had the psychological advantage, as despite losing two wickets, they chased it down with ease, in 14 overs.
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Following the win, Siraj thanked RCB skipper Virat Kohli for trusting him with the new ball. "First, I want to thank Allah for my performance. Then, thanks to Virat, for giving me the new ball. I have been practising a lot with the new ball," he said after the match.
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"We hadn't planned that I will open, but when we went out, Virat bhai said, 'Miyan ready ho jao.' (get ready). The ball to Rana was very good. Executed exactly what I had planned," added Siraj.
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Meanwhile, Kohli, too, expressed his happiness on the way Siraj performed, besides revealing that it was a late call to hand him the new ball. "It was a late call to be honest (to give Siraj the new ball). Was thinking of giving Washy (Washington Sundar). I, obviously, have thought about the things we can do on the field," he said.
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"Management have brought in a proper culture. We have plan A, we have plan B, and people are executing it, that's why it's looking good. Don't think lot of people have belief in RCB. Guys in the change room do and that's all that matters. Can have the best players in the world, but if you don't have the belief, it's no good," added Kohli.
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Kohli also heaped praise on Chris Morris by saying, "Morris is loving the responsibility. He likes to be in a leadership role in the team. Even against Kings, he tried to york Gayle. His energy is amazing. A great, great addition to our squad. Last year, he had a tough year. Lot of people went hard at him. But, he worked hard. He's seeing the result now and we want him to continue."
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RCB are at par with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI), in terms of performance this season. While both are on 14 points, MI are ahead owing to a better net run-rate. Meanwhile, RCB take on table-bottomers Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday, who are having a horrible season so far.
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