Was quite disappointed that I got out to a full toss: Virat Kohli

Faf du Plessis’ Royal Challengers Bangalore got over the line against the Delhi Capitals after two successive losses in IPL 2023. The home side completed a comprehensive victory on the back of former Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s brisk half-century. But the Indian ace wasn’t too happy with his mode of dismissal and felt he could have done more with the bat against Delhi.

Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis have established themselves as a formidable opening pair in this year’s tournament and they gave their side another solid start in the powerplay against the Delhi Capitals. However, the departure of the RCB skipper opened the gates for the visitors, making Kohli’s third half-century in IPL 2023, a crucial knock for the hosts.

The batting superstar was looking in prime touch before he succumbed to a knee-high full toss from Lalit Yadav. The former Indian skipper revealed after the match that his untimely dismissal cost the team 30-35 runs as he was looking to accelerate after breaching the 50-run mark.

“I was quite disappointed that I got out to a full toss. I’ve been playing really well. I wanted to make sure that after fifty, I was targetting 30-35 runs off the next 10 balls. That’s how I play. That would’ve helped us get past 200. One thing I mentioned to the guys in the change room that 175 was enough on this pitch. It slowed down considerably when the spinners came on. Even the balls to hit off the back foot off Kuldeep were holding up, unlike the other games we played. We did well to get to that score and had the belief it was enough,” Kohli said after the match.

I back myself to hit good balls and the best bowlers in the opposition: Kohli

The former Indian captain looks back to best in the 16th edition of the tournament as he has played some brilliant knocks laden with delightful shots in the tournament so far. The 34-year-old revealed confidence in his ability, which puts the opposition bowlers under pressure.

“When I’ve played my best cricket, those are the balls I’ve put away consistently (length balls on the up). That helps me to put pressure on the bowlers. When I put away their best balls, they’re going to try to do something else. I back myself to hit good balls and the best bowlers in the opposition. Very happy to get two points. We kind of let it slip away last two games. For us to bounce back like this was very crucial,” Kohli concluded.