Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) got back to winnings ways after emerging victorious against Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 24 runs. The two sides squared off in match 27 of the ongoing IPL 2023 at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Thursday, April 20.
Losing Captain, Sam Curran said-
I thought we bowled really well as a group. The way Faf and Virat played was good. I did not think they got away from us too much. In the end, we just did not bat well enough. They bowled pretty well as well but we lost wickets. The conditions were quite strange as well. we thought it would rain at one stage, with all the lightning and thunder. (On the pitch) It was a really good wicket with good-sized boundaries, you want a fair contest between bat and ball. Just a couple of things with the bat that we might regret but we move on to Saturday. The games come thick and fast, so it is about learning from this.
Winning Captain, Virat Kohli said-
This (win) does not make us an invincible team or the league position before today did not make us a bad team. The table cannot define your mood, when you have just played five or six games. Maintain our processes and stay in the moment. In the first half, the conditions changed drastically. Faf batted outstandingly well. We thought of extending our partnership for as long as possible so that it could give us an extra 20 runs. After overs 7-8, as soon as the ball was getting bashed into the square, the ball really started getting scuffed up. We changed our strategy then to bat deeper. Had we stayed in, we could have given a crack at 190-200. We felt 175 was a good score on this pitch. I told them that was more than enough. All we had to do was be confident and hold the ball in hand looking to get wickets. The way you win games in T20 cricket is by taking wickets. At the half-way stage, the idea was to take the game to the opposition in the first six overs. We broke the game open right there and our fielding was brilliant as well.
Player of the Match, Mohammed Siraj said-
The first ball was a little short. Then, I tried to bowl a little fuller because I was getting shape. If I pick wickets in the powerplay, the opposition is put under pressure. The lockdown was very important for me. I was quite down before that because I used to be expensive earlier. I focussed on my gym training, on my bowling and I wanted to do well. Even in the ODIs, my rhythm was good, my confidence was high and I have brought that into this season of the IPL. I am a good fielder; I just make a few mistakes once in a while (smiles). I always try to keep improving on every aspect so that I can remain a part of the team.
