AB de Villiers feels that despite their loss against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024 at Eden Gardens on Sunday, April 21, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were the superior team. KKR secured a narrow one-run win over RCB by defending a target of 223 runs.
Despite Bengaluru’s determined effort in chasing the challenging total, they were eventually dismissed for 221 in the last-over nail-biter. De Villiers, a key figure in RCB’s history, shared his thoughts on the match. He highlighted how Bengaluru faced difficulties after another defeat but commended the team for their determined performance in the game.
De Villiers posted on the social media platform X: “RCB the better team today, but unfortunately with Sport, when momentum is against you the small things don’t go your way. Spot of bother to say the least, but never say never. Fight till the end.”
RCB the better team today, but unfortunately with Sport, when momentum is against you the small things don’t go your way. Spot of bother to say the least, but never say never. Fight till the end💪
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) April 21, 2024
Bengaluru needed 21 runs from the last over, which was bowled by Mitchell Starc. Karn Sharma provided some hope for Bengaluru by hitting three sixes off Starc’s bowling. However, he was dismissed on the second-last ball. Lockie Ferguson managed to score only one more run before being run out.
With this victory, Kolkata climbed to second place in the points table, having won five out of their first seven matches. Meanwhile, Bengaluru sits at the bottom of the table with just one win from eight matches.
“I am actually proud of the boys tonight”- Faf du Plessis comments on RCB’s performance vs KKR
During the post-match presentation, RCB captain Faf du Plessis expressed pride in his players despite the disappointing outcome. He praised his teammates for giving their all in the crucial match, stating:
“The small things, I am actually proud of the boys tonight, the way we bowled and fielded, we did give away a couple of big overs towards the end, but I thought we kept them down to a par score.”
“We thought we’ll go hard in the batting powerplay, find those boundaries at the start of the innings. We were desperate, 10/10 from an effort perspective, the way we put up the effort in the ground, the faces told the story.”
“We’ve got an unbelievable fanbase, we want to make them happy, we want them to have a smile on their face. We’ll have to continue putting in our efforts and try to change things around.” he added.
Bengaluru has lost six consecutive matches in IPL 2024 and is in dire need of a remarkable turnaround. Their next match will be against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, April 25th.
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