Veteran RCB batter Virat Kohli’s horrible run continued in the ongoing IPL as he registered another low score in the clash against RR at MCA Stadium, Pune on Tuesday (April 26).
Kohli scored 9 off 10 balls in RCB’s 29-run defeat at the hands of RR while chasing the target of 145. He was dismissed by Prasidh Krishna in the second over of the chase.
The 33-year-old has played 9 innings in this year’s IPL, amassing 128 runs with the highest score of 48. He has also been dismissed for a couple of golden ducks.
After the comprehensive loss against RR, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis spoke about Kohli’s lean patch, saying the great players go through such phases and they are going to back him to turn things around.
"We have to try to change the batting order and see if that works. We have to try and play positively. That's what we discussed after the last game, trying to get the best out of him [on Kohli]. Great players go through these things. Great players go through phases like this. We wanted him to get in straight away so that he doesn't sit on the sidelines and think about the game. He is a great player and we still back him to turn it around and hopefully, it's around the corner. It's a game of confidence," Du Plessis said in a post-match presentation.
The RCB captain acknowledged that his top-order batters are lacking consistency and they will have to fix this issue.
"It's pretty similar to the previous game we played, there is a little bit of inconsistent bounce. We gave 20 runs too many and the dropped catch cost us 25. 140 was a par score on that pitch. That's the thing we need to fix [the top-order batting]. The basics of the game don't change. You needed someone in the top four to bat through and we have not done it," he added.
Coming to the match, RR posted a competitive 144/8 in their 20 overs on the back of Riyan Parag’s 56 not out off 31 balls.
For RCB, Josh Hazlewood (2-19), Wanindu Hasaranga (2-23) and Mohammed Siraj (2-30) claimed two wickets each while Harshal Patel returned with the figures of 1 for 33 in his four overs.
Chasing the modest target, RCB’s innings folded for a paltry 115 in 19.3 overs. It was a listless batting display by the Bangalore-based franchise as no one even managed to touch the 30-run mark. Captain Faf du Plessis was the top scorer with 23.
Kuldeep Sen (4-20) and R Ashwin (3-17) starred with the ball for RR, sharing seven wickets between them. Prasidh Krishna was also brilliant with the new ball and returned with the figures of 2 for 23 in his four overs.
(With ANI inputs)
