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Tag: Kohli

  • Virat Kohli Rues the Lack of Partnerships Against Mumbai Indians

    Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli was extremely disappointed and unhappy with his batsmen against Mumbai Indians and believes they squandered a chance to make a statement. RCB who were chasing 214 against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai fell 46 runs short of the target, with Kohli being the lone warrior with a strokeful unbeaten 92.

    “We just threw it away, and must reflect on our dismissals. Few good partnerships would’ve done the trick for us. Not the 40-45 scores but 80-85 one. But credit to Mumbai who bowled really well,” Kohli said post the defeat.
    With his swashbuckling knock, Virat Kohli is now the highest scorer in this season’s IPL and is also the current owner of the orange cap. Kohli’s run tally after four games stands at 201.

    “I don’t really want to wear the orange cap right now. Mumbai played well, we didn’t get any chances, and when you have your back against the wall – like they did – they could play fearlessly. We tried our hardest but couldn’t get the breakthroughs in after the two early wickets,” a dejected Kohli added.

    Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma though was pleased with his team’s performance as they broke a run of defeats in their fourth game.

    “It wasn’t the ideal situation and I thought Umesh bowled in the right areas. There’s always something for the seamers in the first six overs, but the wicket was still soft when I came in, so just wanted to assess the situation and pace my innings. Always easier when you spend some time in the crease. This is a perfect game for us,” Rohit said after the win.

    Mumbai’s batting, especially the captain has come under some scrutiny in the early stages of the IPL this year, but Rohit who will feel better after the 94 run knock says he is likely to bat at number four for Mumbai to give support to middle order.

    “We can take lot of confidence from this game and move ahead. Yes, we lost the last three games, but we’ve played some good cricket. It was all about putting a collective performance. The idea behind me at No. 4 is to give the team some support towards the middle. That’s why it’s important to have an experienced player in the middle. Whatever I need to do for the team,” he said.

    Rohit also showered high praise on the West Indian opener Evin Lewis who saw two of his teammates dismissed of their first ball at the beginning of the innings before going on to score an important half century.

    “Lewis is very hard to bowl at once he gets in. The other day he played a crucial knock as well, but we did a mistake of not finishing off against Delhi Daredevils. If he continues to bat this way, then life will be much easier for our other batsmen,” he said.

  • Hardik Pandya Apologises to Ishan Kishan, Calls Him ‘Cutie Pie’

    Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya has apologised to wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan after a throw from Pandya — in the 13th over of the RCB innings — jumped from a bowler’s footmark near the popping crease and hit Kishan in the eye. Kishan was in a lot of pain and was given temporary medication before being taken off the field by the MI physio. Kishan’s right eye looked visibly swollen as he walked off. Aditya Tare kept wickets for Mumbai for the rest of the game.

    Speaking at the end of the game Rohit Sharma said: “Unfortunate, I have not checked on him because I came here right after the presentation got over. He seems all-right, he has got little swelling in his eyes, which should be ok by tomorrow/ day after, we have got few days before we play the next match on 22nd, we have got 3-4 days, where we will assess and hopefully he will be fine.”

    Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 92 went in vain as Rohit Sharma’s 94 helped Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore to register their first win of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

    With this 46-run win, the defending champions have opened their account in the league while as for the losing skipper Kohli, he is now the proud owner of the orange cap. Also, during the course of his stunning innings, he surpassed Suresh Raina as the highest run-getter in the history of the league.

    Chasing a mammoth target of 214, Bangalore got off to the best start possible with skipper Kohli and Quinton de Kock taking the attack to the Mumbai bowlers. The duo put on a stunning 40-run partnership for the opening wicket to give the away side an ideal start. However, it all changed in the fifth over of the innings when Mitchell McClenaghan came into the attack and got rid of de Kock and AB De Villiers in a span of four deliveries.

  • Virat Kohli Doesn’t Feel Like Wearing Orange Cap After Loss, Markande Elated to Get Purple Cap

     

    Winning and losing might be part and parcel of competitive sports, but Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli definitely likes to end on the winning side and that was evident when he was handed the orange cap at the end of the game at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

    Speaking as he was presented the orange cap as he now has 201 runs from 4 games, Kohli said: “I don’t feel like wearing this (orange cap) right now because it really doesn’t matter.”

      Kohli is not only the highest run-getter at present in the current edition of the Indian Premier League, but is also the man with the most runs over the 11 editions of the cash-rich league with 4619 runs. He surpassed Chennai Super Kings batsman Suresh Raina – 4558 runs. At the third place is Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma with 4345 runs.

    On the other hand, Mumbai spinner Mayank Markande was handed the purple cap as he now has 8 wickets from 4 games and is closely followed by RCB pacer Chris Woakes who also has 8 wickets. They are followed by Sunil Narine with 7 wickets.

    Speaking at the presentation, Markande said: “I am really glad to get the purple cap again. Really feels nice to compete with world class bowlers like Narine and Woakes.”

    Markande picked up three wickets in Mumbai Indians’ opener against Chennai Super Kings and followed that up with a four-wicket haul against Sunrisers Hyderabad. While the defending champions were on the wrong end of the result on both occasions, Markande caught everyone’s attention with his guile and variety.

    “He was working with me on his plans for certain batsmen here in Patiala before the IPL. After the match against CSK, we spoke over phone the next morning and he told me that he had planned MS Dhoni’s dismissal. He had even planned Rayudu’s dismissal by bowling him the flipper. The most important thing about Mayank is the amount of confidence he has, even as a youngster. He knows everything about his own game and works accordingly. This will hold him in good stead in future as he will now step into first-class cricket,” a proud coach Mahesh Inder Singh told Cricketnext.

    Markande has played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic T20 and ODI tournaments respectively, but is yet to play in the Ranji Trophy for Punjab. His coach feels that his exploits in the IPL will boost his confidence and he could do well in the longer format as well.