IPL 2018: Virat Kohli dedicates RCB’s victory to Anushka Sharma as she turns 30

It was RCB's third victory in IPL 2018 thus far.

RCB defeated MI by 14 runs on Tuesday night | IANS

Facing the uphill task of winning all the remaining matches to qualify for the play-offs, the Royal Challengers Bangalore side came out all guns blazing and registered a comprehensive 14-run victory over Mumbai Indians on Tuesday (May 1) night at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, RCB skipper Virat Kohli dedicated this victory to his wife Anushka Sharma, who turned 30 on Tuesday.

“My wife (Anushka Sharma) is here, it’s her birthday & it’s a little birthday gift to her. I’m glad she could enjoy the win watching from here & it’s very special to achieve 2 points in front of her,” Kohli said.

After being into put into bat, RCB rode on Manan Vohra’s 31-ball 45 and Brendon McCullum’s 25-ball 37 to put a competitive total of 167/7 on the board. Virat Kohli (32 runs off 26 balls) and Colin de Grandhomme (23 runs off 10 balls) were another notable contributors for RCB on a sluggish Chinnaswamy strip.

Defending the total, the bowlers finally stepped up to the plate for RCB. Led by Tim Southee, who delivered a masterclass in the death overs, the bowlers stuck to their plans and conceded just 20 runs in the last three overs to restrict MI to 153/7.

Talking about the significance of this win, Kohli said: “Jeez, we needed that win. Such an important stage of the tournament. We all believe in the changing room that this was the push we needed. Important two points. Just told the bowlers, to back their gut. Take ownership of your field, your plans, and own it. Siraj, Colin, Southee were excellent. Umesh, Chahal everyone bowled well. The one over that JP Duminy bowled and Manan targeted (for 22 runs) took the game away from them. We needed impact performances and that’s what happened.”

With this emphatic win, the RCB franchise have now moved to the fifth spot on the points table. The Virat Kohli led side will now play their next match against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday (May 5) in Pune.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 02 May, 2018

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