'We Did Deserve To Lose, We Were Certainly Not Up To Standard': Virat Kohli After Loss Against KKR

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli has attributed his side's 21-run loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their lackluster fielding that led the opposition to set their foot in the game.

A blistering 56(29) from Jason Roy and an attacking 48 off 21 from captain Nitish Rana powered KKR to 200/5 as most of the RCB bowlers were costly while they were poor in fielding too, dropping easy chances.

Then, Suyash Sharma began the pullback for Kolkata by taking 2/29, before Chakaravarthy and Russell picked 3/27 and 2/29 respectively in restricting Bangalore to 179/8 to earn a much-needed win, after four losses in a row.

"To be honest we handed them the game. We did deserve to lose. We handed them a victory. We were certainly not up to standard. If you look at the game, we didn't capitalize our chances. We dropped a few chances which cost us 25-30 runs. We set up ourselves really well," Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Kohli further said his team's batters were unable to capitalize on loose deliveries, resulting in them losing wickets and ultimately, the game adding that they were just one partnership away from victory.

"We ended up hitting the fielder to balls that weren't wicket-taking. It is what's on the scoreboard and how to get them. Even while chasing, despite losing wickets, we were one partnership away from being in the game. We needed one partnership to get us home.

"We need to be switched on and not give away soft plays. We have won one and lost one on the road. It is not something that is making us nervous. We need to win some away games to be in good shape for the later stages of the tournament," Kohli said.

Also Read: IPL 2023 Points Table

With two crucial points, KKR go up to a seventh position in the 10-team with 6 points while RCB are placed fifth with eight points to their kitty.