We gave the guys a realistic target of 170 to defend: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli had all the smiles in the world after his side recording for the biggest win in IPL history of 144 runs, beating the previous best of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) win by 140 runs in the first match of the first season of the IPL.

It was again Virat Kohli, who lost the toss and was asked to bat first by the Gujarat Lions skipper Brendon McCullum. But Virat and AB de Villiers put on a great show to post a huge target of 249 and Gujarat Lions never looked in the hunt.

“I have all the right to smile today, everything went as per plans despite losing the toss. It can be pretty disheartening after losing 9 out of 11 tosses. It feels good that the guys are ready for it, our equation is pretty clear as it’s like the playoffs from here.”

Royal Challengers have to win all their remaining matches to qualify for the playoffs. Virat Kohli was also looking for good net run-rate. Therefore, in the break after the first innings, Kohli gave his team a realistic target and asked them to defend that and they did that exceptionally well. “We gave the guys a realistic target of 170 to defend for the NRR. The guys have responded very well at the business and of the tournament. We want to take the responsibility and take the pressure. Every day is a new opportunity for some youngster to perform and win the game for RCB, that’s the most exciting thing going ahead.”

The player of the match, AB de Villiers said that Jadeja bowled well against whom he had played 9 dot balls. “Jaddu bowled very well today. It’s about playing the right shots at the right time, it wasn’t just about the boundaries. (Laughs) I’m really angry for facing those dot balls today,” said the South African.

The opposition skipper Brendon McCullum said that they tried to work out different plans like going short, bowling wide, but nothing worked out against two of the best batsmen out in the middle. “We had two world-class batters today and they played two of the greatest T20 innings in the history. Pretty disappointing for us but great to watch as a fan. We tried spin against AB but he took them on early on and got us back under pressure. We tried spin, tried to bowl short, tried to take the pace off but nothing worked.”

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