Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli didn't at all expected a rampaging MS Dhoni to miss the final delivery of the run-chase when Chennai Super Kings needed to get two runs off that ball to win last night's IPL 2019 encounter. With CSK needing 26 runs from the last over, Dhoni smashed away 24 off the first five deliveries against Umesh Yadav, but couldn't connect the final ball and later saw wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel inflict a run-out when he tried to steal a single via bye for a tie.
"A whole lot of emotion. We were outstanding with the ball until the 19th over mark. Defending 160 on that sort of pitch and the amount of dew we had was an outstanding effort," said Virat at the post-match presentation ceremony on Sunday (April 21).
"On the last ball, that was the last thing I would've expected to happen. Feels good to win a game by a small margin. We've lost a couple by small margins. MS did what he does best and he gave us all a massive scare."
Kohli then praised young fast bowler Navdeep Saini, who delivered a fantastic penultimate over despite facing the vastly experienced Dhoni and gave away just 24 runs in his quota.
"Chahal and Saini showed a lot of composure playing against a side like CSK. Especially Saini, playing his first season, and Yuzi has been around for a few years now," he added.
"Saini's shown a lot of heart. He bowls with pace and understands his limitations. He's come along well for the team. Hope he keeps fit and keeps bowling fast which is his biggest strength."
Batting first, RCB posted a total of 161/7 in its allotted 20 overs, but the team could well have scored more had it sent an in-form Moeen Ali higher up the order, perhaps above Akshdeep Nath and Marcus Stoinis. Ali went on to make a valiant 26 off 16 with five crucial boundaries in his innings.
"Looking in hindsight, you could say Moeen could've come higher," Kohli accepted. "But the idea was to get their spinners out of the way. They wanted to attack Stoinis with spinners. Those things sometimes they come your way and sometimes they don't."
"In the first six overs, we thought the ball wasn't coming onto the bat that much. PP and AB started to rebuild. At the halfway mark we thought 175 would've been a very good total on this pitch. We thought we were 15 short. We thought their bowlers didn't make us play enough on the front foot."
Even though it won, RCB still languishes at the bottom of the eight-team points table with six points, after three victories and seven losses, but Kohli is still quite optimistic of a major turnaround in his team's fortunes.
"We have said a lot of things in the nine games. But if you don't have confidence, none of those things matter," he stressed. "In the last couple of games, we just said go out there and do your thing."
"In T20 cricket, you are going to be put under the pump. It's how well you bounce back that matters and tonight was an example of that."
Parthiv Patel received the "Player-of-the-Match" award for his solid half-century (37-ball 53) and a vital run-out under pressure that secured RCB its first win against Chennai Super Kings since 2014. He said, "We tried to play a few shots initially. But we realized it wasn't the usual 200 wicket. I was batting well, was talking to coaches. It was just a matter of choosing my shots after the first six overs."
"Chose my bowlers to target. The last ball I knew there was only one chance. Was prepared from the third ball that this situation might come. Have been saying that we are a very good side, there's no doubt about it."
(Inputs from PTI)
