'They Put The Squeeze On Us…', Faf du Plessis After Heavy Defeat to KKR
Suyash Sharma celebrates a wicket against RCB (IPLT20.COM)
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were steamrolled by the KKR in match number nine of the ongoing IPL 2023 season. The Faf du Plessis-led side conceded early advantage to the hosts on both counts, as they sustained an 81-run hammering at the Eden Gardens.
Faf du Plessis looks back at heavy defeat against KKR
After winning the toss and fielding first, the RCB unit let off the KKR batters despite having them floored at 47-3. Hosts opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz anchored the innings upfront with a crafty 57 before Shardul Thakur hammered a 29-ball 68 to stretch their total past the 200-run mark.
Chasing a stiff target, RCB openers Virat Kohli and captain Faf du Plessis got them off to a flier, racing to 44 within the first five overs. However, the entire RCB middle-order crumbled after opener’s successive departure as they were reduced to 61-5 within the next 24 balls.
They were eventually dusted out for 123, as they struggled to combat KKR spin throughout the run-chase. After the match, RCB skipper admitted his team’s shortcoming against the KKR spin trio, mainly Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and IPL debutant Suyash Sharma.
The former South African cricketer also admitted that his bowling department let off the KKR in the death overs. He said:
“We had it set up there in the 12th or 13th over... It was probably 20-25 runs too much. Shardul played well. Their leg spinnersogot on top of us. It was still a good wicket... but the nature of mystery spinners is that they get wickets. They put the squeeze on us. We were pretty average with the bat. You learn lessons. Two or three days ago, you played brilliant cricket. It got away from us.”
The RCB will now face the Lucknow Super Giants in their next IPL 2023 assignment on April 10. The match will be played at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, thus marking their second home fixture of the season.
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