IPL 2018: RCB Suffered Once AB and I Were Dismissed Quickly, Says Virat Kohli

Indian captain Virat Kohli’s start to the 2018 IPL was not the best as his side Royal Challengers Bangalore were beaten by the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

With RCB batting first, Virat Kohli along with AB de Villiers had the perfect chance to get the runs on the board and set KKR a big target, but according to the captain his team was about 15 runs shot and missed out on crucial momentum.

“I think we were 15 short with the bat. I played too many dot balls and couldn’t get any momentum going. Me and AB getting out in 2 balls to a part-timer was a game-changing event. Sunil took the game away from us with the way he batted. If you are giving 13 an over in the first overs on that sort of a wicket, it’s very difficult to comeback. It’s difficult for the spinners to bowl on this pitch, the fast bowlers get some purchase and you can score runs as well. It has become a really good cricket wicket over the last couple of years. We made a pretty good game out of it, to drag it till the 19th over and take those wickets was a big positive,” Kohli said during the post-match presentation.

Meanwhile, winning captain Dinesh Karthik was full of praise for Sunil Narine about his late match winning efforts with the bat. Narine scored a very fast 19 ball 50 alongside his skipper to help the KKR side begin the season with a win.

“Feels very good. Nice to get to a good start. I felt it was coming too well against the pacers. When AB and Virat were playing it was tough. We just prayed to God that he [Narine] gets going. We all play for the crowd and we love to play for this team and this fantastic crowd,” Karthik said.

Sunil Narine who came away with the man of the match award for his innings said, “It’s good to get the ball rolling in the first game. The support staff and everyone giving me a chance to open the batting. Whatever role the teams wants to play, I’m happy to do it. It’s a good cricket wicket, whatever you do on the field, it’s gonna benefit you.”