RCB opener Aaron Finch – who scored 47 off 37 balls – did not seem to have got his timing going early on as he was heard using the ‘B’ word during the match against Kolkata on Monday at Sharjah. The incident took place in the sixth over when Andre Russell bowled a slower delivery which was also short and Finch was early into the shot. Irritated with himself, Finch let his emotions out and it was picked up on the stump mic and that baffled the commentators as well.

There was doubt over Russell’s participation but the West Indian also contributed with the ball, which was delightful from a KKR point of view. Kolkata was thrashed by Bangalore by 82 runs. De Villiers was the star of the show as he smashed a whirlwind 33-ball 73. His innings was laced with six sixes as he helped Bangalore post a mammoth 194 for two. De Villiers along with Kohli stitched a 100-run partnership.

With the win, RCB moves up to the No 3 spot in the points table replacing Kolkata. They have won five of their last seven games and are in good form.

Kohli looked delighted after the win as he complimented the team for an allround show. The RCB skipper also went on to shower praise on De Villiers.

“On a pitch like that, only AB can do that. It was a special knock. We got 195 purely because of the genius of that man. Always things you can reflect on and say you can improve on these things. All about taking this momentum forward. Don’t want to be complacent,” Kohli said.