Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli labelled his team’s performance against southern rivals Chennai as one of their most complete performances. Bangalore beat Chennai by 37 runs in the Dream11 IPL 2020 league match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Kohli’s unbeaten 90 powered the three-time finalists to a competitive total of 169/4 in their 20 overs. In reply, the three-time champions’ run chase was not up to the mark as they were playing a catch-up game after having lost early wickets as the asking rate kept on getting steeper. Ambati Rayudu top-scored with 42 as the former champions were restricted to 132/8. Kohli was also adjudged the Man of the Match for his stellar knock.
He added, “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 learned that if you are set at the death, you can capitalize. Before that, I was trying to do too much. If you think too much about responsibility, you get burdened. That Super Over where I had to strike, else we would have lost, freed me up. Training all these days also helped. Yes, he’s (Chris Morris, who played his first match of the season) been really good, gun on the field and three wickets on debut. With him and Gurkeerat, the batting also gets deep. When you get momentum in this format, it can be the difference between finishing at the top or at the bottom.”
His opposite number Mahendra Singh Dhoni revealed where his team is struggling this season.