IPL 2021: Game wouldn’t have gone this far if there weren’t fielding lapses, says Kohli

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 27  After registering a thrilling one-run win against Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said that his side would have gained a more comprehensive victory if there weren’t fielding lapses on show.
Mohammed Siraj defended 14 runs in the final over as RCB registered a thrilling one-run win over Delhi Capitals here at the Narendra Modi Stadium. With this win, RCB has moved to the top spot in the IPL standings with 10 points from six games. On the other hand, Delhi Capitals is at the third spot with 8 points from 6 games.
“At one stage I thought it was getting away, but Siraj’s final over gave us confidence and we thought he would manage a professional and clinical job. If there weren’t fielding lapses it wasn’t going to go this far anyway. We lost wickets but AB went berserk and then in the last few overs while bowling Hetmyer got hold of a few, otherwise, we were in control,” Kohli told host broadcaster Star Sports at the post-match presentation.
“There was no dew tonight thanks to that sandstorm, and we bowled with a dry ball, so that made a difference. Maxi is still not bowling, he’s the 7th option, so we have enough options to do the job for us. We always had batting depth, but now we have a lot of bowling options too,” he added.
Earlier, AB de Villiers’ unbeaten knock of 75 runs off just 42 balls helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) post a score of 171/5 in the allotted twenty overs. Along with de Villiers, Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxwell also chipped in with knocks of 31 and 25. For Delhi Capitals, all the five bowlers used by skipper Rishabh Pant ended up taking one wicket each.
“I choose to be optimistic, but captaining for too long does make you nervous. I invariably go with the gut feel of the bowler. AB doesn’t like me saying this, but he hasn’t played competitive cricket for 5 months, and given that, AB’s innings was absolutely top-notch as he has done time and again for us,” said Kohli.
RCB will next lock horns against Punjab Kings on Friday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.