Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) resumed their IPL 2021 campaign with a crushing nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Abu Dhabi on Monday (September 20).
Opting to bat first, RCB got bowled out for a paltry 92 in 19 overs. It was a listless batting performance from the Virat Kohli-led side as no one managed to touch the 30-run mark. Opener Devdutt Padikkal was the top scorer with 22.
Varun Chakravarthy (3-13) and Andre Russell (3-9) starred with the ball for KKR, claiming three wickets each.
In reply, Knight Riders rode on Shubman Gill’s 34-ball 48 and Venkatesh Iyer’s 27-ball 41* to overhaul the target with 60 balls to spare.
After the demoralizing loss, skipper Kohli addressed his teammates in the dressing room and inspired them to move on and make a strong comeback in the next game.
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“We are better off accepting it immediately and being at peace with it. Not meaning that we don't look forward to the next one but, it should give us more hunger to get on to the field again. And play the cricket that we have already played in this tournament,” Kohli can be heard saying in a video posted by RCB on Instagram.
“It's about accepting that this kind of a game will happen at some stage. There is no reason why we should react differently to losses. We have to stay pretty balanced as a team if we have to go all the way,” he added.
After the first half of IPL 2021, RCB were occupying the third position on the points table with 5 wins from 7 games. They are still holding the third spot but their net run rate (-0.71) has taken a hit after an embarrassing loss to KKR.
RCB will take on Chennai Super Kings in their next game on Friday (September 24) at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
