The Royal Challengers Bengaluru recorded their fourth win of the season when they beat the Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets at the M Chinnasamy Stadium on April 15.
Speaking after their win in the dressing room, Virat Kohli praised his team’s approach to counter-attack after the early setback of Salt’s dismissal. The Royal Challengers got 60 runs in the powerplay for the loss of just one wicket, which put them in control of the 147-run chase on a slightly sticky wicket. Kohli scored 49 off 32 balls, and 40 of those runs came in just 20 balls in the powerplay.
“Guys, another good win for us, I won’t keep it long at all. I think we were quite professional with the back, conscious effort to try and take the game away from the opposition early on. After we lost Salty [Phil Salt], the idea was to press back counter-attack and not give them a sniff in the game and we ended up doing that,” Kohli said in a video shared by the franchise.
Kohli praised captain Rajat Patidar’s efforts in helping continue the momentum in their chase. Patidar has batted in sixth gear this season, playing as an enforcer who scores big in the middle overs. He scored 27 in 13 balls, striking at over 200.
“Again, the handover of momentum from one guy to the other is something that’s working really nicely for us. When Rajat came in, of course, he recovered again and played some amazing shots. In small periods of pressure, we chose the right shots, put the pressure right back on the opposition, and we just stay ahead of the game at all times,” he said.
‘Don’t like seeing collapses’ – Kohli on the finish to the innings
Despite their dominant position, RCB lost five wickets in the chase, but they managed to finish the chase with 29 balls to spare. Kohli further stated that this should not be a regular occurrence, but was glad that Romario Shepherd got some time out in the middle. Shepherd finished unbeaten on 14 off 8 balls.
“From a personal perspective and also from a batting group perspective, I think I would have liked to see us finish with two or three down. I don’t like seeing collapses, but bloody well done and good to see Sheppy (Romario Shepherd) finally get some time with the back and finish the game off. KP (Krunal Pandya) is the only one left now, so everyone gets some game time and then we’ll probably see a celebration next time. Well done, very professional, we’ll keep moving ahead,” Kohli said.
The win took the defending champions to the top of the table in 2026. They will be looking to continue this momentum when the Delhi Capitals visit the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 18.
