Varun Chakravarthy will be a key factor for India: Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were blown away by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on their return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. KKR put in a professional all-round show, first to restrict a star-studded RCB line-up to 92 and then finished the job off with nine wickets and 10 overs to spare. 

Speaking at the post-match presentation, RCB skipper Virat Kohli was all praise for Varun Chakravarthy, who finished with a spell of 3 for 13 from his four overs. "Pretty good from Varun. He's going to be a key factor when he plays for India. It's great guys who've got the opportunity to play at the international level. He's someone who is going to play in the near future for India, it's a great sign," Kohli said of Chakravarthy, who has been named in India's squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Speaking of the match, Kohli said that this was a bit of a wake-up call for the team, but backs them pull up their sock and bounce back in the next game. "Was important to get a good partnership. We didn't expect that much dew to kick in that early. From 42 for 1, we lost 5 wickets for 20-odd. Bit of a wake-up call. Might as well have this at the start of the second leg so that we know what we should work on," Kohli said.

"We have five wins from eight, we expect a loss here and there, it's part and parcel, need to be professional, stick to our strengths and execute our plans. We have absolute confidence in our squad to pull up next game onwards and put in strong performances," he added.

Speaking of his player of the match winning performance, Chakravarthy said, "When I have the ball in my hand, I try to assess the pitch."

"It was flat, credit to the bowlers for bowling well in the PP. I like to set it up for the bowlers who come on after me. There wasn't much spin on offer, so I had to keep my line on the stumps only."

"Playing for India has made me feel better, I have a sense of acceptance from people around me, because I started at 26," Chakravarthy, who made his international debut during the recent tour of Sri Lanka, added.

Despite this loss, RCB remain third in the table with 10 points from eight matches, while KKR jump to fifth place, having picked up six points from eight matches in IPL 2021 so far.