IPL 2020: I think it Should Have Ended by The 18th Over – Virat Kohli
Speaking at the end of the game, Virat Kohli said he was surprised to see the game went down to the wire. The RCB skipper also explained the rationale behind demoting de Villiers before stating that 171 was a decent total.
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s skipper Virat Kohli expressed his surprise on the way the game against Kings XI Punjab ended. KL Rahul led side needed just 11 runs in the last three overs and it looked like they could easily win the match in the 18th over as KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, the two well-set batsmen were on the crease. But it didn’t happen as expected as they took the game till the last ball of the final over, where Nicholas Pooran smashed a six and helped his side in registering a second win in the IPL- 2020.
Batting first, Virat Kohli led side posted 171 for 6 on the scoreboard in the scheduled 20 overs. Virat Kohli was the top scorer for his side as he smashed 48 off 39. Openers Devdutt Padikkal and Aaron Finch shared a 38 run partnership for the first wicket before the former departed for 18 on the first ball of the 5th over.
Finch and Virat Kohli then added 24 more runs before M Ashwin sent the Australian back to the pavilion for 20 on the 3rd ball of the seventh over. From here onwards, RCB gave many surprises by sending Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube ahead of AB de Villiers.
The decision of holding back AB de Villiers didn’t prove good as he got dismissed after scoring just 2 runs off 5 balls in the 18th over of Mohammed Shami. Three balls later, Shami sent Kohli back to the pavilion. At that time, it looked like RCB would end up to 150 or 160 but thanks to Chris Morris (25 off 8), who played spectacular innings for his side, RCB ended their innings with 170 on the board.
Chasing 171, KXIP took the match up to the last ball of the final over. While KL Rahul (61* off 49) played beautifully for his team, Gayle also impressed his fans by hitting a half-century in his first match of the IPL 2020.
Virat Kohli’s Reaction
Speaking at the end of the game, Virat Kohli said he was surprised to see the game went down to the wire. The RCB skipper also explained the rationale behind demoting de Villiers before stating that 171 was a decent total.
“It was quite surprising because it went down to the wire. A bit of pressure can confuse you, it was a good performance by Kings XI in the end. We had a chat, it was a message about the left-hand, right-hand combination. Sometimes these decisions you make, don’t come off. But I think 170 was a decent score.
“That’s the idea, get your eye in and start hitting. But we were not able to put them under pressure. We take a lot of pride as a bowling side, but tonight was one of those nights, as it didn’t come off. A few positives from the game. There was no conversation between Yuzi (Chahal) and me to be honest. Things became interesting, to be honest. They kind of let us come back in the game because I think it should have ended by the 18th over,” he concluded.
