Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli recalled his side’s loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final of the IPL 2016. He said it was a painful defeat for them and it still disappoints him.
RCB was at its rampaging best in the IPL 2016. They finished second on the points table and defeated Gujarat Lions in Qualifier 1 to book their berth in the final. Virat Kohli had slammed four centuries on his way to making 973 runs in the season, both records that still stand today.
However, they fell one step short of the title as they suffered a narrow 8-run defeat in the summit clash against SRH to continue their hunt for the trophy.
RCB conceded a mammoth target of 208 runs in their quota of 20 overs. But their in-form opening pair for Virat Kohli, who scored 973 runs in that season, and Chris Gayle came out all guns blazing and scored more than 100 runs in 9 overs and it almost seemed that they will lift their maiden IPL title.
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After that, they suffered a massive collapse as they scored only 80 runs in the last 9.3 overs and lost seven wickets. It was a heartbreak for them as they fell just 8 runs short of the target.
Speaking on the RCB podcast, Virat Kohli said that IPL 2016 was unbelievable for them as four players were at their peak and they got on a roll. He added that they felt that even if they are not doing well, they can still make it and that belief never went away.
"That season was unbelievable. It was so amazing that four guys performed at their peak, game in game out. It was so rare to see that in T20 cricket and we just got on a roll where we felt like 'fine, even if we're not doing well in this season, we can still make it'.
“That belief never went away. It is very difficult to create that belief again and again. It happened very naturally in that season," Virat Kohli said.
Kohli said that it was a disappointing loss for them in the final of IPL 2016 against SRH. He admitted that they had opportunities but they failed to grab them and the opposition was better than them.
"It disappoints me. I would say that we had opportunities where we came close. But at the end of the day, I won't call it luck because the opposition is there to play as well. If they were better on the day, you have to accept it," he said.
Kohli pointed out that one of the main reasons for them not being able to win the IPL trophy that season was their inability to be courageous in their plans in the crunch moments.
"We have to accept the fact that the reason we have not won is that we haven't been as courageous or as clear in our plans as we should've been in those crunch moments. You can say that the odds were stacked against us as they were expectations from us to win, but you have to deal with them. You can't run away from them,” he said.
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The former RCB skipper expressed his disappointment, saying that they collapsed after scoring more than 100 runs in the first 9 overs.
"I felt like it was written. How can the final be in Bangalore and we play a season like that, we play that kind of a game where we are 100-something without a wicket in 9 overs, and then (we collapse)," he said.
Virat Kohli further revealed that KL Rahul, who was part of RCB in IPL 2016, still sends the screenshots of the match when it is being broadcasted on the television. He added that they were dejected and admitted that they were not good enough.
He remarked that among all the seasons in the tournament, IPL 2016 he felt that they had it in front of them.
“To this date, when there is a highlight package coming on Star of that game, KL takes screenshots from that game and says it still hurts. And it does. You'd think about the game every now and then and how there were dejected faces in that amazing setup we had done for the post-victory celebration.
“It was such a huge setup and we were sat there thinking we gave our everything.. I won't say it wasn't our day, we were not good enough. It's easy to accept that but that is one game where I feel like it hurts. From all IPL seasons I've been a part of, I felt like we had it in front of us in that game,” he concluded.
Virat Kohli stepped down as the skipper of RCB. He has been retained by the franchise for INR 15 crore ahead of the IPL 2022 auction.
(RCB podcast inputs)
