After registering their first victory at home at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in VIVO IPL 2018, an elated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli credited the outcome to his bowlers, especially Umesh Yadav. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin, leading Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), also praised his boys for putting up a solid fight and admitted that he is enjoying captaincy.
“I am really proud of the way the boys fought. Always thought we had our backs against the wall because we were about 20-30 short. Still we fought hard and I am proud of the guys,” said the KXIP skipper. Ashwin, who was appointed the skipper ahead of the season, said he is enjoying being on the driving seat.
“It’s good so far, I am really enjoying it. Cannot ask for anything better from the boys,” he opined. Chasing 155 for victory against KXIP, host RCB romped home in 19.3 overs, thanks to some fine knocks by Quinton de Kock (45), AB de Villiers (57) followed by Mandeep Singh’s 22, down the order.
After losing their IPL opener against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), RCB was eyeing a win at home and Umesh’s 3 for 23 restricted the opponents to a small total. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Kohli said: “Very happy. First home game is crucial. Last year, we couldn’t get off to a start. The crowd has a lot of expectations, and tonight was a game we wanted badly, especially in the initial stages of the tournament.”