Kohli disappointed with team’s performance against Pune – essentiallysports.com

On Sunday night, the Royal Challengers Bangalore played against the Rising Pune Supergiant. RCB were soundly beaten by 27 runs, much to captain Virat Kohli’s chagrin. During the presentation ceremony, Kohli said “Not an easy thing to find momentum. We don’t deserve to win if we play like this. Honestly, last match we fought really hard, today we let the game drift away right in front of our eyes. If we lose without intent, it’s not a nice feeling. We have a few things to address. You can’t just come out here thinking we’re gonna play at home and sweep sides away. We need to play good consistent cricket. Pune was the better team and they won.”

“Last year, we had to win four out of four and we qualified. It’s not going to happen every year, so we need to pull our socks up. If you play with intent and get out or get hit for runs, it’s fine. You can’t be switched off and let the game drift away. As professional cricketers, playing for a franchise and you’re playing in front of so many people, and people expect you to do well. So, you got to be at the top of your game and we certainly weren’t today. We didn’t deserve to win”

However, there were a few positives from the game against Pune. Kohli took a great catch to dismiss Rahul Tripathi off the bowling of Pawan Negi. Kohli considered it one of the best catches that he had ever taken. He also said that it reflected on all the training drills that RCB had undertaken. He also praised the bowling of his teammate Adam Milne, who he felt had stepped up to the plate and assessed the conditions well. Kohli was also grateful for the support of the Bangalore crowd and stressed on the need to repay that kind of support with a good performance. “They (fans) have always backed us throughout. Last year we needed their support and they were out here in huge numbers to do that. Once we get things turning around for us, hopefully we can come back and dominate at home. We as players need to take more responsibility so that we can give the fans something to cheer about.”