RCB couldnt accelerate in the death overs and if it wasnt for the 8-ball 25 by Chris Morris in the last over, the total would have been below 160.
Virat Kohli
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday admitted the decision to push AB de Villiers down the order didn't work but said his bowlers should have been able to defend 171 against Kings XI Punjab in an IPL match here. De Villiers, who had smashed a 33-ball 73 against Kolkata Knight Riders in their last match, was expected to come in at his usual number four spot but with two leg-spinners in operation, left-handed batsman Washington Sundar was sent ahead of the South African.
RCB couldn't accelerate in the death overs and if it wasn't for the 8-ball 25 by Chris Morris in the last over, the total would have been below 160. "We had a chat, a message from outside about left-right combination and we wanted to go with it because they had two leggies. "Sometimes things don't come off. We're pretty happy with the decisions we took, but it didn't come off," Kohli said at the post-match presentation. "Having 170 was a decent score. The idea was to let them [Shivam Dube and Sundar] to get their eye in. They bowled well. It's not a great ground for bowlers but that's not an excuse.
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"We take pride in our bowling. Tonight it didn't come off and we have to accept it and take responsibility. There's always something to learn to go back and understand."
Chasing the total, KL Rahul (61 not out) and Chris Gayle (53) went on a six-hitting spree to bring the equation down to seven in last two overs with nine wickets in hand.
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