Virat Kohli happy with RCB's recovery in second half of IPL 2019

Sport360 staff 01:03 05/05/2019
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  • Virat Kohli

    A win against Royal Challengers Bangalore would have all but confirmed Sunrisers Hyderabad’s qualification to the Indian Premier League playoffs. But Shimron Hetmyer had other ideas and the visitors were subject to a second half come-back led by the Windies youngster on Saturday.

    Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson felt that his team did well to set up a competitive total but RCB’s brilliance took the game away from them.

    “Every time you turn up you like an element of control. At the halfway stage it felt like we set a competitive total. Credit to Bangalore for the way they stuck out and kept coming hard at us. Naturally when you take your opportunities it does help. But that is a game of cricket.

    “It would’ve been nice to get 10-15 runs in the first innings, but credit to Bangalore for keeping up the pressure. I suppose there are a number of fine lines, our last two matches could’ve gone either way but we ended up on the wrong side.”

    Winning captain Virat Kohli said his team managed to avoid what could have been a humiliating season and fought till the end.

    “If we focus on the second half, it is exactly what we wanted in the first half. After losing your first six matches, it is very difficult to come back in a tournament like IPL. We have a lot to learn from this season. The first couple of things matters a lot in setting the intensity. We are happy with the way guys have turned things around and the kind of cricket that we have played in the second half.

    “A lot of credit goes to the team management for getting us back in the right frame of mind. We haven’t finished in the position that we wanted to. But because the second half has been so good it doesn’t feel like a bad season.”

    Kohli showered praise on Windies starlet Hetmyer and hoped his team benefits from more of the same in the future.

    “When me and ABD got out, I think the opposition took it lightly. We spoke upstairs that time for someone else to show up. Both Hetmyer and Gurkeerat played really well. We know Hetmyer can play like that. We would like Hetty (Hetmyer) to play like he did today next year. And Gurkeerat played a really mature innings. He has a keen eye for the game,” Kohli concluded.

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