IPL 2021: RCB captain Virat Kohli sends message to team after KKR defeat; Watch

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) restarted their IPL 2021 campaign with a disastrous loss against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Following the match, a video was uploaded by RCB's Twitter handle in which skipper Virat Kohli was seen addressing the team after their loss, saying that they need to accept the loss and be at peace with it but also look forward to the next match.

Kohli, while talking to the team said, "We are better off accepting it immediately and being at peace with it, not mean that we don't look forward to the next one but it should give us more hunger to get on to the field again and play the cricket that we have played already in this tournament. It's just about accepting that this kind of a game will happen at some stage. There is no reason why we should react differently to losses. We have to stay pretty balanced as a team if we have to go all the way."

KKR sinks RCB’s batting line-up to clinch an easy win

Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday. However, the RCB side known for its firepower crumbled to a total score of 92. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy picked up from where he had left in the first half of IPL 2021 and wreaked havoc in the KKR vs RCB game returning figures of 3/13. Andre Russell also joined the party picking three wickets conceding only nine runs from three overs.

KKR chased down the total with ease in just 10 overs. The Eoin Morgan-led side won the game with nine wickets to spare as openers Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer orchestrated a stunning partnership of 82. Iyer marked his debut with an unbeaten knock of 41 off 27 balls while Gill scored 48 off 34. Despite the loss, RCB sits third in the points table with 10 points in 8 games in IPL 2021. KKR will play Mumbai Indians next on Thursday, while RCB will take on Chennai Super Kings on Friday as they will look to redeem themselves from the loss. 

Image: Twitter/@RCBTweets