Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) emerged victorious in their clash against Delhi Capitals (DC) by 23 runs in match 20 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The two franchises locked horns at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday’s (April 15) first double-header clash.
Winning Skipper, Faf du Plessis said:
We needed that to get the confidence back in the group. Especially the bowling group. Defending a total is not always easy at the Chinnaswamy, so very proud of them. It’s the first day game of the season. Also the new rule now – you always feel you need more. 175 in a day game here is a good score. But with the new rule there’s some uncertainty. Generally the first six overs is more important. The way we bowled was just unbelievable. Huge credit to our seamers in the first six.
Losing Skipper, David Warner said:
“I said at the toss that we had to do both disciplines very well and unfortunately we did it again tonight where we lost too many early wickets. We didn’t build partnerships chasing that total. It should have been an easy task but unfortunately we didn’t come up trumps. We lose three wickets in the Powerplay and runouts are non-negotiable in this format and that sometimes can cost you the game. Siraj had his tail up and bowled extremely well. You can’t take credit away from the way they came out and started as well. The positives were great with the bowling and fielding were exceptional. Our attitude and energy were amazing. But yet again it was just our batting. We’re going to have to try to work out how we’re going to take on the Powerplay and not lose early wickets, especially in the first two or three overs. That’s going to hurt you in a lot of games. We have to have a hard look at ourselves and come back strong with five days off. Things aren’t working at the moment but teams have come back from 0-5 so hopefully we can be that second team.”
Player of the Match, Virat Kohli said:
It was a tricky one. When it went up in the air, I made sure there was no one close to me. I made sure I grabbed it solidly. I was quite disappointed that I got out to a full toss. I’ve been playing really well. One thing I mentioned to the guys in the change room that 175 was enough on this pitch. It slowed down considerably. We did well to get to that score and had the belief it was enough. When I’ve played my best cricket, those are the balls I’ve put away consistently. When I put away their best balls, it puts pressure on the bowlers. We kind of let it slip away last two games. That was a different mentality and phase altogether (T20 World Cup 2016 semis). I back myself to hit good shots. When they come off they look good.
