NEWSThe victory against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday was closest to perfection, feels Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli who is pleased as punch to end up with two more points in his kitty.
For Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the fifth defeat has led to an admission that the batting unit has not clicked and he expects his players to take a more fearless approach in the second half of the campaign.
RCB beat CSK by 37 runs in an IPL encounter which took them to eight points from six games.
"It was one of our most complete performances. We got into a bit of a tricky position in the first half," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"From there on, we pushed forward. We spoke during the second timeout (with the bat) that 140-150 would be good. Ended up getting more than that. It was a tricky pitch," Kohli further added.
The skipper spoke about need to build on the momentum as they have some back-to-back games coming up.
"Really pleased to get two points. We have back-to-back games coming up, so important to build momentum.
"It's about understanding the conditions and respecting the game. Instead of trying to hit every ball into the second tier of the stadium. Having played so much cricket, especially T20 cricket, I have learnt that if you are set at the death, you can capitalize," Kohli said.
"I think the last 4 overs when we were bowling (didn't go to plan), before that the bowlers had done a good job, we needed to close it nicely. Batting has been bit of a worry and today also it was evident," Dhoni said.
Dhoni without naming said that even as they do permutation and combination, the problem areas have remained same as they are keeping too many runs to score after 15th or 16th over.
"We need to do something about it. We can't just keep turning up.. it is almost the same thing that is happening maybe the individuals are different but I think we are better off playing the other way round - play the big shots.
"Even if you get out it is fine because we can't leave too many after the 15th or 16th over that just puts too much pressure on the lower order batsmen."
Kohli also revealed that he was putting too much pressure on himself by trying too much
"I was trying to do too much and putting too much pressure on myself, taking focus away from what I need to do - watch the ball and bat. Sometimes you forget you're only a player out there, and the responsibility then kicks in," Kohli said in the post-match presentation.
"If you think too much about responsibility, you get burdened and you don't play as a player. Your skills are also required for your team's success. That Super Over where I had to strike every ball, else we would have lost, really opened my mindset. And then I started enjoying training, enjoying batting."
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