IPL 2018: Virat Kohli hails his bowlers for maintaining the composure against SRH

Teams don’t want us to win, we sense fear and pounce on them, says Kohli.

Kohli hailed AB de Villiers for his unbelievable catch near the boundary ropes | Screengrab

Royal Challengers Bangalore registered a convincing 14-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday (May 17) to keep their playoff hopes alive in the ongoing Indian Premier League. It was RCB’s third win on the trot and they are now placed at the fifth spot on the points table.

After being put into bat, RCB rode on AB de Villiers’ 39-ball 69 (12 fours and 1 six) and Moeen Ali’s 34-ball 65 (2 fours and 6 sixes) to pile up a mammoth 218/6 in 20 overs. In reply, Sunrisers batsmen put on a spirited show to score 204/3.

Captain Kane Williamson was the top-scorer for SRH with 81 runs from 42 balls but it wasn’t enough for his side as RCB bowlers executed their plans exceptionally well in the death-overs to secure two points.

Speaking after the match, the elated RCB skipper Virat Kohli said: “I have seen many of these games before. Just had to stay calm at the end of it. After a point of time, you need to understand that the bowlers are in control of what they want to do. We have two games like this. The one against Mumbai was something similar. The wicket was very good and in the second innings, there was a lot of dew. Hats off to the bowlers for maintaining the composure and giving us two points. The last three games have been like this with our backs against the wall.”

RCB will take on Rajasthan Royals in their remaining league match on Saturday (May 19) and Virat reckons that his troops are fully charged up for the all-important clash.

“We head to Rajasthan with momentum on our side. We are pretty comfortable with the side. Hats off to Moeen to perform the way he did today. Teams don’t want us to win. We sense fear and pounce,” he added.

Kohli also hailed AB de Villiers for his unbelievable catch that got rid of the ominous looking Alex Hales on 37.

“That was spiderman stuff (about ABD’s catch). You don’t do that as normal human beings. I thought it was going for a six but he pulled it off. He can do freakish things but I am used to it now. His fielding I am pretty used to now. Need to thank the crowd as it is our last home game,” the RCB skipper concluded.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 18 May, 2018

    Share Via