Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) could not rise to the occasion, as they suffered a six-wicket defeat to Delhi Capitals (DC) in Match 55 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, on Monday. While RCB sealed their playoffs berth, despite the loss, they would have expected better.
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Match summary: Winning the toss, DC skipper Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl first, as RCB’s Padikkal (50), along with AB de Villiers (35), helped them post a modest total of 1527, while Anrich Nortje claimed 333. In reply, the DC batsmen held their nerves, as it was Shikhar Dhawan (50), along with Ajinkya Rahane (60), who did the job for the side. They secured the win by six wickets with six balls to spare, as both sealed their spot in the playoffs.
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Meanwhile, following the loss, RCB skipper Virat Kohli made an interesting revelation regarding the Net Run-Rate (NRR). Kohli admitted that it was only during the 11th over they came to know that they needed to take the game beyond 17.3 overs to possess a better NRR than fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
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“Through the 11th over, the 17.3-over mark was informed by the management. Even if the game’s drifting away from you, we controlled that middle phase really well, where they could have taken the game away from us,” Kohli said after the defeat.
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“We have a shot, an opportunity and that’s all we want as a team. I’m sure the guys will be excited about what’s ahead for us. We can be more, more brave with the bat in pockets,” added Kohli.
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Speaking on the game, Kohli revealed, “With the ball, we were decent, probably, we could have a strong powerplay, which is our strength. If we implement those things, we’ll be at the right end of the result. It’s important to stay positive. There are going to be learnings along the way, but we are glad that we are through.”
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“It’s a mixed bag. As I said at the toss, you come to games to try and get the result your way. We are happy that we’ve qualified. Top two would’ve been very really nice. But, I think we’ve played good enough cricket to earn a qualification spot,” Kohli further asserted.
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RCB would now take on either of KKR or Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator on Friday. “You could say just before the qualification, the mindset was a little bit tentative. We’ve got two games to reach the final,” Kohli told on the same.
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Meanwhile, RCB might have had an injury scare, as pacer Navdeep Saini and all-rounder Chris Morris had walked off the field on Monday. On being asked on the same, Kohli concluded, “We’ll have to assess what’s happening. Hopefully, they’ll be fine by the time we play our next game. And, see how they go in the next few days.”
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