Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were not at their best, as the acceded to a heavy 59-run defeat to Delhi Capitals, in Match 19 of the continuing Indian Premier League (IPL) in Dubai on Monday. This was RCB's second defeat in five matches, as they stay in the third spot of the points table.
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Electing to bowl first, the RCB bowlers had a tough outing, as the DC batsmen were both flawless and ruthless, scoring a challenging total of 1964. In reply, RCB succumbed to the pressure, as they lost early wickets, while Virat Kohli's innings of 43 was not enough to steer them home.
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Following the defeat, as Kohli expressed his disappointment for coming up with a below-par performance, he was all-praise for DC's gameplay. From fearless batting to a star-studded and balanced squad, Kohli believes that DC are the team to watch out for this season.
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"DC are playing some really good cricket. Their batting is fearless. They have got pace, they have got good spinners. I won't say they are unbeatable, but they will be hard to beat. Against this side, you have to bring your A-game. We didn't tonight," said Kohli post defeat.
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"The conversation around chasing has been to have one big partnership. With dew setting in, if you have eight wickets in hand in the last 10, the game is on even if you need 100 or more. The good thing is, we have won three out of five. We know we are playing good cricket. We just need to be professional in those big moments," he added.
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"It didn't go our way. They got off to a great start, in the next eight we pulled them back, but the last chase got away from us. As I said, we need to grab important chances. It is not like we are dropping half chances, but sitters," he concluded.
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RCB have been playing pretty good this season, as compared to others, with their only other loss coming against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). They have so far tamed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and former champions Rajasthan Royals (RR).
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RCB are one of the sides, along with DC and RR, to have not won the IPL title to date. Thye next take on former champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday.
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