Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis admitted that his team could have scored more runs in the death overs in their IPL 2024 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Saturday (April 6).
Invited to bat first, the visitors posted 183/3 in their allotted 20 overs on the back of Virat Kohli’s century (113* off 72 balls). The duo of Kohli and Du Plessis (44 off 33 balls) added 125 runs for the opening wicket but it wasn’t enough for RCB to go past the finish line.
In reply, RR rode on Jos Buttler’s dazzling hundred (100* off 58 balls) and captain Sanju Samson’s 42-ball 69 to overhaul the target with six wickets and five deliveries to spare.
After the defeat, the RCB rued not crossing the 190-run mark despite having so many wickets in hand. He also said that dew didn’t help their cause in the second half of the innings.
“I think batting out there with Virat; we found the wicket really tricky and low. We did feel 190 would be a good score. I did feel we could have maximised 10 or 15 more towards the end. It was a good toss to win, you did see that it played much nicer with the dew,” Du Plessis stated in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Virat was playing really well at the back end. Whether it was Virat or a Greeny (Cameron Green) or a DK (Dinesh Karthik) coming in, we could have scored a few more. We tried, but it was quite tricky to hit. With the spinners, a lot of balls were hitting the bottom of the bat. I think the pitch definitely got better. That's what dew does, that's the nature of the wicket,” he added.
Du Plessis also mentioned that Mayank Dagar’s last over of the powerplay turned the momentum in RR’s favour. Dagar conceded 20 runs as the hosts scored 54 runs in the first 6 overs.
“I thought it was a good toss for them to win. We started well in the first four overs, then the one over from our spinners, 20 runs; it shifted the pressure back onto us. Maxwell, all the right-handers batting in the middle, that's why I went to the left-arm spinner, Mayank, who's been bowling well for us this season,” he remarked.
It was RCB’s fourth defeat in five games this season. They are currently holding the eighth spot in the points table, featuring 10 teams.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next face Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 11.
