Batting icon Virat Kohli was very critical of his RCB teammates after facing defeat from Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing season of the IPL 2023 on Wednesday. While issuing an explosive statement after RCB faced their fourth defeat of the season at home, Virat openly admitted that Royal Challengers Bangalore handed the game to the visitors. He blamed Bangalore’s sloppy fielding and soft dismissals for their recent defeat to the two-time champions in the 16th season of the cash-rich league.
At the post-match presentation, Virat said, “To be honest, we handed over the game to them. We deserved to lose. We weren’t professional enough. We bowled well, but our fielding was not up to standard. This was a freebie handed over to them. In the field, we dropped two chances that cost us 25–30 runs. When batting, we set ourselves up very well but then suffered four-to-five soft dismissals.
Virat Kohli scored 54 runs in 34 balls to keep RCB in the hunt during the high-scoring match between Bangalore and Kolkata at Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Virat further added, “Not wicket-taking balls, but we hit straight to the fielders. Even while chasing, after losing wickets, one partnership brought us back into the game. We were one partnership short. We need to stay 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.”
RCB will now face the Lucknow Supergiants in the 43rd match of the IPL 2023.