Umesh Yadav took three wickets for 23 runs. (PTI Photo)
Virat Kohli was pleased with his team’s performance in their first game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday. The Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Kings XI Punjab by four wickets in their first home game and got their first win of IPL 2018. Kohli said that they improved from the first game and the bowlers were up to the mark in the game. (PHOTOS: Anushka Sharma blows flying kiss to Virat Kohli)
“We are very happy to get on the board. First home game is very crucial always. We were decent in the first game and we improved on it. We knew the new ball will come on nicely. Then the bowlers showed composure. Umesh took three wickets and blocked the momentum,” Kohli said. “Credit to Umesh, Washington, Woakes, and Khejroliya. Once you have five bowlers, you can pick and choose later. We wanted to give them more responsibility.”
He added that the target of 156 runs was under control as something above 170 was par. He also explained that the pitch this year is better than last and Bangalore recovered well to win the game.
“I think 170 would have been par, the pitch is slightly better than last year. We lost two wickets in two balls in the last two games. We need to string partnerships and losing quick wickets puts you behind the eight ball,” he said.
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Umesh Yadav set up the victory for RCB as he took three wickets in one over. He bowled a perfect over which had wicket of Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch and Yuvraj Singh. Umesh said that he just wants to keep it simple out there.
“I just back myself and I just practiced in the nets. I was bowling quick and at the stumps, sometimes I try too many variations. Nehra wants to keep it simple and Virat also. I am just trying my best to bowl a hard length and into the wicket. I just don’t worry about variations and keep it simple. This was slow, Kolkata was fiery and back of a length was kicking up. I enjoyed Yuvraj Singh’s wicket. That was the best,” he said.
Kings XI Punjab captain R Ashwin admitted that his team was 20-30 runs short on this pitch but he was proud of the ways his team fought against Bangalore at their home.
“I am proud of the way the boys fought. We were probably 20-30 runs short. We go down, we go down like this. The pressure is on RCB, they have the big players. Captaincy is good and I am enjoying it. I can’t ask for anything more from the boys. There was a lot of dew but good bowlers are always good bowlers,” he said.