XtraTime Web Desk – It has been a rollercoaster ride for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. They were knocked out of the tournament after a defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator of IPL playoffs. After the match, skipper Virat Kohli had few emotional words for his teammates.
“The attitude has been outstanding. Next year probably things might be different, might have a few more allowances. We never know, but still as long as we keep coming back together as a group, and really enjoy our time together, we will have one hell of a tournament next year as well. We can be really proud of what we have done after a few season that were tough for us. Keep growing from here and believing we can keep building on from here as a sport” said Kohli in a video posted on Twitter.
During the post match presentation, the RCB said that he believes that the match could have gone in his side’s favour if Devdutt Padikkal hadn’t dropped the crucial catch of Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Kane Williamson at the fag end of the IPL Eliminator.
Williamson was dropped by Devdutt Padikkal at the boundary in a difficult attempt when SRH needed 28 from 2.4 overs.
“It is a game of margins and if Kane (Williamson) was taken (caught) there then it is a different ball game,” Kohli said during the post-match presentation.
“If you talk about the first innings I don’t think we had enough runs on the board. We made one helluva game in the second half, the positions we got ourselves into in the second half.” Kohli added talking about the ups and downs of the match.
Mentioning their batting performance in the game, Kohli said “Altogether they put us under a lot of pressure in the first innings. Few soft dismissals, few fortunate ones for them as well and we just didn’t have enough runs on the board. Maybe a bit of nerves, maybe a bit of hesitation, we need to be more expressive with the bat. We didn’t put enough pressure on their bowlers. We didn’t have any phases in the game where we got away from the opposition.”
This year saw the rise of many young talents from every IPL team. Devdutt Padikkal has been a revelation for RCB this year. “Couple of people have stood up, Devdutt (Padikkal) is one of them, he stepped up nicely and getting 400+ runs is not easy. He has played with a lot of class and efficiency for the team. Very happy for him.” Kohli said talking about the Southpaw.
At last he went on to thank all the RCB fans. “It was amazing to have had this opportunity to come out and play. There’s a bigger picture going around here and we are all contributing to that. To all our fans who have supported us like every year, we just want to thank them.”