AB de Villiers feels Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were superior. Despite losing to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024 at Eden Gardens, on April 21st.
KKR won by one run against RCB, successfully defending a 223-run target. Bengaluru battled valiantly while chasing the high target, but were eventually bowled out for 221 in the penultimate over drama.
AB De Villiers, who has been an important part of RCB in the past, pondered on the game. AB de Villiers described how Bengaluru found themselves in trouble after suffering yet another defeat. AB de Villiers did, however, laud the squad for their energetic performance throughout the match.
AB De Villiers posted on the microblogging platform, X:
“RCB the better team today, but unfortunately with Sport, when momentum is against you the small things don’t go your way. Spot of bother to say the least, but never say never. Fight till the end.”
AB de Villiers
Bengaluru needs 21 runs from the last over. Mitchell Starc was assigned with bowling the remaining six balls. Karn Sharma gave Bengaluru hope by smashing three sixes against Starc. However, he was dismissed on the last ball. Lockie Ferguson could only score one more run before being run out.
Kolkata leapt to the second rung of the points ladder courtesy of this triumph. They’ve secured success in five of their opening seven encounters. Bengaluru, however, languish at rock bottom with a mere solitary victory from eight clashes.
“I am actually proud of the boys tonight”- Faf du Plessis on RCB’s performance vs KKR
RCB captain Faf du Plessis talked after the match. He said he was proud of his team even though they lost. Faf praised his players for trying their best in the important game. He said:
“The small things, I am actually proud of the boys tonight, the way we bowled and fielded, we did give away a couple of big overs towards the end, but I thought we kept them down to a par score.
“We thought we’ll go hard in the batting powerplay, find those boundaries at the start of the innings. We were desperate, 10/10 from an effort perspective, the way we put up the effort in the ground, the faces told the story.”
“We’ve got an unbelievable fanbase, we want to make them happy, we want them to have a smile on their face. We’ll have to continue putting in our efforts and try to change things around.”
Faf du Plessis
Bengaluru is on a six-match losing record in the IPL 2024 and is desperate for a dramatic comeback. They will now face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, April 25.