(MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli during the RCB vs CSk IPL match at Sharjah on Friday. (Photo: Courtesy RCB Facebook page)
Sharjah: Ruing their missed chances against Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli said that earlier after getting a good start, they should have posted a good total and later the bowlers, too, failed to make use of the pitch, which had a lot to offer to the them.
CSK beat RCB by six wickets with 11 balls to spare.
Kohli said, "We could've got 175, that could've been a winning total. The pitch had a lot to offer but our bowlers could not make use. They got away with too many boundary opportunities. They bowled well in their back end and executed the yorkers when needed. It was difficult for us to get elevation, and only bad balls could be put away. We then gave too many boundary balls. We spoke of areas we didn't want them to hit, but we couldn't do that."
"The X-Factor was missing in the first five overs with the ball. But it's very important to execute balls during the crunch moments. Those few moments... that's what we failed to capitalise on. We need to get on a winning run again. This game is more disappointing than the first one. We were on top and then gave it all away," added Kohli.
Meanwhile, winning captain MS Dhoni said Jadeja's spell was important with Padikkal batting from one end and therefater Bravo, Josh, Shardul, Deepak too were brilliant. "We were worried about the dew, so whenever there's chances of dew we want to bat second. They got off to a good start but after ninth over wicket slowed down. You still had to bowl tight, and Jadeja's spell was important with Padikkal batting from one end. After that Bravo, Josh, Shardul, Deepak were brilliant."
"It's always on the back of your mind on which bowler can be effective over here. I had told Moeen before drinks that he would be bowling soon, but then I decided Bravo should bowl. The more you delay Bravo, the more difficult it is since he will end up bowling four straight overs in these difficult conditions," said Dhoni, adding that CSK players have worked hard and have understood their roles and responsibilities.
"Over here, the three grounds are different. This is slowest of all. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are different. So the players have been adapting. Looking at the wicket, I felt left-right combo was important. We bat deep, we have a lot of left-handers, so in the back of the head it's there. And I feel all of them are good enough to play in any position. That's why we went with the left-right combination, which may have pushed Raina and Rayudu down. Bravo has turned up fit - that's a very good thing and he is executing well. I call him my brother. We always have fights over whether he should bowl the slower ball. But I told him that now everyone knows he bowls slower balls, so I told him to bowl six different balls in one over. Whenever he can, he takes up responsibilities," said Dhoni.
