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The way you win games in T20 cricket is by taking wickets: Virat Kohli

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Last updated on 20 Apr 2023 | 03:00 PM
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The way you win games in T20 cricket is by taking wickets: Virat Kohli

Mohammed Siraj's 4-for helped RCB get their first away win of the season

After getting off to a strong start, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) openers struggled to get accelerate in the latter half of the first innings. A mini collapse meant that RCB could only muster 174 on what seemed like a slow surface.

"In the first half, the conditions changed drastically. Faf batted outstandingly well. We thought of extending our partnership for as long as possible so that it could give us an extra 20 runs. After overs 7-8, as soon as the ball was getting bashed into the square, the ball really started getting scuffed up.

We changed our strategy then to bat deeper. Had we stayed in, we could have given a crack at 190-200," Virat Kohli, RCB's stand-in skipper, said.

Talking about the dressing room environment after losing a close game against Chennai Super Kings, Virat felt that they there wasn't any point in looking at a single loss so closely. 

"This win does not make us an invincible team or the league position before today did not make us a bad team. The table cannot define your mood, when you have just played five or six games. Maintain our processes and stay in the moment."

"We felt 175 was a good score on this pitch. I told them that was more than enough. All we had to do was be confident and hold the ball in hand looking to get wickets. The way you win games in T20 cricket is by taking wickets."

"At the half-way stage, the idea was to take the game to the opposition in the first six overs. We broke the game open right there and our fielding was brilliant as well."

After the way Virat and Faf du Plessis started in the powerplay, it seemed like Punjab Kings clawed their way back to restrict RCB to 174. But, the RCB skipper thought otherwise.

Punjab's stand-in skipper, Sam Curran, felt that it they did not let the game get away from them in the first innings, and it was their batting that let them down.

"I thought we bowled really well as a group. The way Faf and Virat played was good. I did not think they got away from us too much. In the end, we just did not bat well enough. 

They bowled pretty well as well but we lost wickets. The conditions were quite strange as well. we thought it would rain at one stage, with all the lightning and thunder. It was a really good wicket with good-sized boundaries, you want a fair contest between bat and ball. 

Just a couple of things with the bat that we might regret but we move on to Saturday. The games come thick and fast, so it is about learning from this," he added.

Both teams next play on Sunday. RCB going back home to face the hurt Rajasthan Royals, while PBKS travel to Mumbai to take on the resurging Mumbai Indians.

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