Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has stressed that "one or two partnerships" would have helped his side beat Mumbai Indians in the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at Wankhede Stadium on April 17.
The Bangalore-based side had a good start when they picked up 2 wickets in the first 2 deliveries of the match. However, a partnership from the defending champions' captain Rohit Sharma and Evin Lewis took the game away from RCB.
Sharma's 94 and Lewis 65 made sure Mumbai Indians posted a mammoth total of 213 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. In reply, Royal Challengers Bangalore had a good start to their innings.
However, wickets kept falling at regular intervals and Kohli had no support from the other end to chase the target. India captain made 92 as RCB managed 167 runs, which resulted in a defeat by 46 runs. Kohli is currently leading the chart for most runs scored this season. He stressed that getting orange cap really means nothing after the Challengers' latest defeat.
"I don't really want to wear this right now. We just threw it away, and need to reflect on our dismissals. One or two good partnerships would've done it for us, but credit to Mumbai who bowled really well," Kohli explained, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
"Mumbai played well, we didn't get any chances, and when you have your back against the wall - like they did - they could play fearlessly. We tried our hardest but couldn't get the breakthroughs."
Meanwhile, Sharma has hailed the collective effort of his players in order to help Mumbai Indians clinch their first win of the IPL 2018 against RCB on Tuesday.
"It wasn't the ideal situation and I thought Umesh bowled in the right areas," There's always something for the seamers in the first six overs, but the wicket was still soft when I came in, so just wanted to assess the situation and pace my innings," Mumbai Indians captain stressed.
"Always easier when you spend some time in the crease. This is a perfect game for us. A collective effort from both our departments, plus our fielding.
"We can take a lot of confidence from this game and move ahead. Yes, we lost the last three games, but we've played some good cricket. It was all about putting a collective performance."
