Jaipur | Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has conceded that his struggling team is yet to get the right balance and will continue experimenting with its combinations in the ongoing IPL.
RCB are winless in the ongoing edition. They went down to Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets, their fourth successive loss, on Tuesday night.
“This is a month-and-a-half or a couple of months maximum. You have to think of the best possible combination going forward. We will definitely sit down and consider talking about what we can do. What can we do to get the balance right,” Kohli said after the match.
“Hopefully get some fresh guys in and they can make some cracking match-winning performances for us and get the team going. That’s an important factor: to think on our feet. Just focus on the best XI we can take on the park and be competitive every game,” he added. Kohli said he is still hopeful of a turnaround.
“We have 10 games to go. If we start turning things around pretty soon, then we can get on a roll as well. We have to keep believing as a side. Just four games in, we would have liked one result our way if not two.
“The Mumbai game and this one, I thought we played well. We just didn’t grab onto our chances, we will like to improve our performance and take a bit of confidence that we were a bit more competitive than the last game,” he said. Kohli said they needed a few more runs on the board against Rajasthan on Tuesday.
“We were more competitive. but we were 15-20 short with the bat. I thought 160 was competitive, but with the dew factor, 15 runs more would’ve been more challenging,” he said.
The RCB fielders dropped a number of catches and Kohli said they can’t afford to commit such mistakes if they want to finish on the winning side.
Rajasthan skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith were dropped and their contributions with the bat helped the hosts win. “It was not easy to get the boundaries in the second innings but if we make that many mistakes (dropped catches), then we will fall on the losing side. In a tournament like IPL, when you have no momentum, then these things can happen,” said Kohli.
RCB spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who became the Purple Cap holder with his two wickets on Tuesday, was pleased with his effort so far.
“It’s a great feeling to have the highest wickets in the tournament, but we didn’t win the match. Leg-spinners have so much variations compared to other bowlers, and we can get a bit more turn even on flat wickets,” he said.
“I created a bit of doubt on the batsman’s mind. Our fourth loss in a row, but we have 10 games, and we have a chance of coming back. If we think negative, then no point playing. So we need to be positive.”
Rajasthan skipper Rahane said leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal changed the game with wickets of Kohli and AB de Villiers. “We know his (Gopal) record against Kohli and De Villiers and it changed the game. It was a good team effort. After 3-4 overs, we thought wicket is slow, so I thought if spinners bowl well then batsmen will have a hard time,” he said.
“(Krishnappa) Gowtham was excellent in the powerplay, and Gopal backed up after that. Relief, yes, to get points on the board. We played good cricket in the last three games, but Tuesday night was all about giving more than 100 per cent.”
Gopal, adjudged man-of-the-match for his brilliant 3/12 spell, was modest when asked about his super show.
“I am fortunate and lucky to have gotten those big wickets. As a youngster getting such big names out doesn’t come everyday. I was just fortunate, and the plans worked,” said the leg-spinner.
“Coming in to bowl in the seventh over, we had built a lot of pressure in the powerplay. I had come in after that, and because the batsmen were trying to score off me, I managed to get the wickets. Pretty comfortable bowling my variations, I rely on my gut feet while deciding what to bowl.”
“I really don’t know why wrist spinners do so well in T20s. But maybe it’s because we can spin the ball both ways. Overall, it’s about bowling in good areas and being disciplined.”
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