IPL 2021: Virat Kohli terms RCB's defeat to KKR as 'wake-up call', says he is optimistic

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) restarted their IPL 2021 campaign with a disastrous loss against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Following the match, skipper Virat Kohli said that the defeat was a 'wake-up call'. Kohli, during the post-match presentation, said that the loss was a mere reality check and that he remained optimistic about the team in the upcoming fixtures. Despite the loss, RCB sits third in the points table with 10 points in 8 games in IPL 2021.

Virat Kohli reflected on the team’s performance and termed the loss as a bad game. The skipper went on to say that the team must bring forth their A-game in the next match. "You have to take it in your stride like you take your victories in your strides as well. We just need to be professional and stick to our strengths and make sure that we execute the plans that we have properly on the field. We have absolute confidence on this squad that we'll be able to pull up from the next game onwards and put in strong performances", Kohli said in the post-match presentation.

The losing captain shed some light on the dew factor and said that it wasn’t expected by the team. "It was important to get a good partnership on this surface. We honestly didn't expect that much dew to kick in so early, we couldn't have predicted that. It looked like a good wicket to bat on first up. Bit of a collapse there for us, a bit of a wake-up call and might as well have this at the start of the second leg so that we know exactly what we need to work on."

The RCB skipper also added that the KKR vs. Bangalore game a point to emphasise on the team’s weaknesses and comeback stronger. "We have five wins from eight games, we expect a loss here and there in this tournament. That's part and parcel of things. You have to take it in your stride like you take your victories in your strides as well. We just need to be professional and stick to our strengths and make sure that we execute the plans that we have properly on the field. We have absolute confidence on this squad that we'll be able to pull up from the next game onwards and put in strong performances," he added.

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 Russel also joined the party picking three wickets conceding only 9 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. KKR will next play Mumbai Indians on Thursday, while RCB will take on Chennai Super Kings on Friday as they will look to redeem themselves from the loss. 

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