Royal Challengers Bengaluru once again disappointed their fans in the Indian Premier League. After winning six consecutive games to qualify for the playoffs, they lost to Rajasthan Royals by 4 wickets in the Eliminator. The batting performance was not upto the mark, with all the batters failing to put up a good show at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
They scored just 172/8 after being invited to bat first. The performance of the top order was again below-par. Even the fielders didn’t help the bowlers and dropped catches.
Virat Kohli scored more than 700 runs in the 17th season and also completed 8000 runs in the history of the league. He opined on his franchise’s display.
“We didn’t do well in the first half and then all the players started playing for the self-respect. This is when we started winning and our confidence came back. It was truly special the way we bounced back and qualified for the playoffs. The fans once again supported us and they turned out in large numbers not only in Bengaluru but wherever we went. I would like to thank them for their support,” Virat Kohli said.
RCB captain Faf du Plessis was dejected but praised the players. “We wanted to play the final and lift the trophy. It was a brilliant effort to win six consecutive matches to qualify for the playoffs,” he said.
Dinesh Karthik also talked about the team’s winning streak in the second half. “We showed character when things were not going our way. There is no fairytale ending in sports and today we witnessed that,” he said.