Despite coping a 6-wicket defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals (DC), Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday (November 2) qualified for IPL 2020 playoffs and skipper Virat Kohli feels his team has played good enough cricket throughout the tournament to clinch a spot in the last-four stage.
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Chasing 153 to win, DC took more than 17.3 overs to overhaul the target, helping Kohli's side to finish the league stage with a better net run rate than Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
"It's a mixed bag. As I said at the toss, you come to games to try and get the result your way. Through the 11th over, the 17.3 mark was informed by the management," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Riding on Ajinkya Rahane’s 64 and Shikhar Dhawan’s 54, DC completed the task with an over to spare.
Earlier, R Ashwin (1-18), Kagiso Rabada (2-30) and Anrich Nortje (3-33) did well with the ball to restrict RCB to 152/7 in 20 overs.
"I think we controlled the middle phase really well and they could've taken the game away from us. We are happy that we've qualified. The top two would've been very really nice.
"But I think we've played good enough cricket to earn a qualification spot. You could say just before the qualification, the mindset was a little bit tentative. We've got two games to reach the final," Kohli added.
"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 braver with the bat in pockets.
"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. We'll have to assess what's happening, hopefully, they'll (Morris and Saini) be fine by the time we play our next game. And see how they go in the next few days," the captain concluded.
With this victory, DC secured their place in the playoffs and they will meet Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1. On the other hand, Tuesday’s clash between SRH and MI will determine whether RCB finish third or fourth.
