'They stopped us 20 runs short,' says Kohli post defeat against table-toppers Mumbai

Taking on the second-placed team in the IPL 2020 as the tournament nears the business end, defending champions Mumbai defeated Bangalore by 5 wickets on Wednesday at Abu Dhabi. By virtue of the win, Mumbai have now placed one foot into the qualifiers as the race heats up. On the other hand, Bangalore seems to have got swayed away from winning ways as they have now lost two games on the trot when it actually matters the most. 

Commenting upon Bangalore's derailed first innings, skipper Virat Kohli opined that the Mumbai stopped them 20 runs short of a good total. Highlighting that the last five overs were a 'strange phase' for Bangalore, Kohli said, "It was a strange phase of batting (the last five overs of the RCB innings). Everything went to the fielders and these kind of things happen. They bowled in good areas in the last 5 overs and stopped us 20 runs short. We were in the game until the 17th over and that was a decent effort by our bowlers. It's basically up to the gut of the captain and the conditions, we thought Dale and Morris for initial swing, and Washy in the powerplay. We needed a few wickets there, but their batsmen did a good job. This is always going to happen - some teams peak early and some do better later."

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Jasprit Bumrah led the bowling attack scalping 3 wickets on his way to bagging his 100th IPL wicket. The batting attack was led by Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed Bangalore bowlers all around the park and was consequently awarded the Man of the Match award. He top-scored with 79 runs leading his side to victory as he also notched up his highest score in IPL. 

Stand-in captain Kieron Pollard emphasised that the team cannot always depend on Bumrah. He also heaped praises on Suryakumar Yadav's match-winning performance hoping for him to keep consistency. 

"We can't just depend on Bumrah. But we would want other guys to step up as it is a team game. We lost a few wickets but Surya took us home. Imagine, someone, coming in at that number and batting at that strike rate despite a wicket going down. The most he can do is continue performing for us. As an individual, if you continue to be consistent, the rewards will come. I have always done what the team wants me to do. If the team performs well, I am happy," Pollard said.

Speaking of his knock, Man of the match Suryakumar Yadav said that he was looking to finish the game and revealed that his shots off Chahal over cover and back foot punch of Steyn were his favourites. " I have worked on my game during the lockdown. I used to love playing on the on-side before. Pleased to have finished the game. The team management and Rohit told me before the start of the tournament told me that you have played enough to take the game deep. I am glad I have been able to do it," Yadav told Harsha Bhogle during the post-match presentation. 

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