Virat Kohli on Wednesday (October 6) termed Glenn Maxwell’s run-out as a game-changing moment in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) 4-run defeat at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Abu Dhabi.
Chasing 142 to win, RCB were reduced to 38/3 before Maxwell slammed 40 off 25 balls to bail the team out of trouble. The swashbuckling right-hander was looking set to finish the match for Bangalore but SRH skipper Kane Williamson’s direct-hit sent him back to the pavilion in the 15th over.
"I don't think so, the intent has to get it done as soon as possible. Having lost a couple of early wickets, rebuilding was key. Maxi's run-out was a game-changing moment. With AB you are never out of the game, but it is about making sure that the guy who's in flow should be on strike. Not as effective when chasing that down. Shahbaz [Ahmed] played a crucial knock at that stage, it is a game of small margins, I think Sunrisers held their nerve and bowled out their last few deliveries pretty well to not allow us to get us those big hits we were looking for," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
SRH restricted RCB to 137/6 in 20 overs as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jason Holder, Siddarth Kaul, Umran Malik, and Rashid Khan picked one wicket each.
Kohli also praised Sunrisers’ pace sensation Umran, who clocked 153 kmph in the game to bowl the fastest delivery of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
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“This tournament throws up talent every year, good to see a guy bowling at 150 clicks [on Umran Malik]. It is important to understand the progress of individuals from here on. The pool of fast bowlers being strong is always a good sign for Indian cricket and whenever you see talent like this, you are going to have your eyes on them and make sure you maximise their potential which is already being seen at the IPL level,” he said.
Earlier, RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first. They restricted SRH to 141/7 in 20 overs with Harshal Patel (3-33) and Daniel Christian (2-14) claiming five wickets between them. Yuzvendra Chahal (1-27) and George Garton (1-29) also bagged one wicket each.
For SRH, Jason Roy was the top scorer with 38-ball 44. Williamson also played a handy knock of 29-ball 31.
(With ANI inputs)
