Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli termed Sunday’s 118-run defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad as one of their “worst losses ever” in the Indian Premier League.
Jonny Bairstow and David Warner smashed sensationalcenturies to guide Sunrisers to a comprehensive 118-run win over strugglingRCB.
Englishman Bairstow struck 114 from just 56 balls whileWarner carried his bat for a 55-ball 100 in a record 185-run first-wicketpartnership to post a mammoth 231 for two, a total which the visitors defendedwithout any fuss.
This was RCB’s third loss on the trot in the tournament.
“One of our worst losses ever. Literally nothing I canexplain. Nothing went right for us from ball one until our last wicket fell inthe second innings. We were outplayed in all departments by a quality side.They showed that they are a champion side – they were finalists last time andbeat us in the final (in 2016),” a dejected Kohli said after the match.
Kohli credited Bairstow and Warner for taking the game awayfrom his side with their explosive opening partnership.
“Credit to them (Warner and Bairstow). We could have tried afew different things, like taking pace off the ball. But once those guys gotin, they just kept going. You need a few things to go your way, and a fewcatches fell in between fielders. They were world class today and they deserveto be on the winning side,” he said.
Kohli said with a big total to chase, he thought of openingthe batting but later decided against the option to give balance to theirfragile middle-order.
“We thought about that initially as well (opening thebatting). I have done well opening the batting but myself at number 3 bringsthat balance in the side, given that I can bat with AB (de Villiers) and putthe opposition under pressure. We just need our players to put up a betterchallenge up front. There are still 11 games to go,” he said.
The RCB skipper hoped things would turn around for his teamin their next fixture against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Tuesday.
“The pitch will be nice in Jaipur against the Royals. Weneed to bring our A-game, like we did against Mumbai and play with that kind ofintensity. If we go through the motions, we need to do the regular basic stuff,and get results our way and start winning games in the tournament. The nextgame should be that game for us,” Kohli said.
Sunrisers’ stand-in captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar lauded hisbowling unit, especially the performance of Afghan Mohammad Nabi, who picked up4/11 in his first outing this season. “It shows how good a spinner he is(Nabi). He was spot on from the first ball. It was a good batting track in thesecond innings but our bowling was brilliant,” he said.