Bengaluru: Helplessness was palpable when Virat Kohli spoke after his side’s sixth straight defeat this IPL season as he defended his atypical slow knock against Delhi Capitals, here Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore made 149 for eight but could not defend the total with Delhi Capitals winning by four wickets.
“We thought 160 would be competitive, but we kept losing wickets at regular intervals, so I wanted to take the game deep. Even 150, had we held on to our chances, would’ve been difficult for them. We need to grab those chances, can’t give excuses every day,” said Kohli at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We just weren’t good on the given day. That’s the whole story of RCB this season,” he said in dejection. Talking about poor fielding of his side which has now dropped 15 catch chances, Kohli hinted pressure is playing in players’ mind. “When the mind is cluttered, you wouldn’t be able to focus on the chances that come your way. When you have clarity, you can take your chances better. Shreyas made 65, he was dropped on eight. You never know, could’ve come into the game that time.”
Looking forward, Kohli said his side needs to needs relax and accept whatever comes ‘in front of us’. “There’s nothing more you can tell the team. We’ve asked the boys to take responsibility. It hasn’t happened so far, and that’s the reality. Need to play expressive cricket. Personally, not trying to control anything. After a while, it’s about the skill. We want to enjoy as a team, otherwise we won’t be able to play any good cricket.”
Chasing 150 to win against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi on Sunday were going strong 145-3 before they lost three wickets for just two runs before Axar Patel sealed the win with a boundary. Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer said he is not worried about the recent batting collapses of his team but stressed on the need to work on certain areas ahead of their next IPL match.
Asked if it was a concern, Iyer said: “The collapse isn’t worrying, but we need to think further moving on. We will think about such areas we can work on. I’m really positive the boys will come back positively. Big satisfaction when you win a game. I’m doing alright as a captain, want to maintain it.” Delhi will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.