Kohli rues RCB’s lack of intensity
Kohli has rued a lack of intent by the Royal Challengers Bangalore after they suffered a seven-wicket loss against the Gujarat Lions on Thursday.
The RCB skipper said: “We were not clinical. You have to come out and play with intent. You need some luck going. The only way you can come out of it is by playing positive cricket.”
Positive cricket was missing in RCB’s approach against Gujarat Lions. The batsmen put up an insipid display to be bowled out for 134 and Gujarat Lions were powered by a 34-ball 72 from Aaron Finch, handing Virat Kohli’s side a heavy loss which virtually put them out of the play-off race.
The likes of Chris Gayle, Kohli and AB de Villiers have underperformed. Gayle, in particular, has managed only 152 runs at an average of 25.33. De Villiers has managed only 61 runs in four games after smashing 89* against KXIP while Kohli has hit two fifties in five games. The RCB skipper said players were hesitant to try out things, which was affecting their results.
“We should enjoy. We are putting too much of pressure on ourselves. Individuals have to take responsibility. It should not be the same two-three guys performing all the time,” Kohli said.
After spinner Samuel Badree took two quick wickets, that of Ishan Kishan and Brendon McCullum, Finch blasted a fifty off just 22 balls, the fastest by a Gujarat Lions batsman ever, to take the game away from RCB. Kohli praised Finch’s knock and said he stood up to the pressure well.
“Finch played a fantastic knock. In a small chase, it is important for one guy to step up and he did. He did not give us any chance of coming back into the game,” the RCB skipper said.