Kohli lauds Maxwell, de Villiers; Morgan 'stumped' by Chepauk pitch

RCB captain Virat Kohli praised Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers after their fifties powered the team to its third consecutive win in IPL 2021. KKR captain Eoin Morgan weighed in on the pitch.

Virat Kohli's RCB beat Eoin Morgan's KKR to register its third consecutive win in IPL 2021.

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli praised Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers after their fifties powered RCB to its third consecutive win in IPL 2021.

"I said at the halfway mark, we have 200 because of two genius innings back-to-back. Maxwell was outstanding and AB to follow," Kohli said after his side's 38-run win in Chennai.

Despite RCB struggling at 9/2, Maxwell took the attack to the KKR bowlers, slamming a 49-ball 78. De Villiers then took centre stage, racking up a whirlwind 76 off just 34 balls. RCB clobbered 70 off the last five overs to finish with 204 for 4. "We got 40 extra runs on that pitch which slowed down. Maxi has taken to this team like duck to water. AB loves the team. They were the difference today."

 

Kohli reserved special praise for Mohammed Siraj, who conceded just 1 run off the 19th over, keeping a lid on Andre Russell's power-hitting. "Siraj's over to Russell [was good]. He's a different bowler after the Australia tour, and he shut the game out. Harshal (Patel) has so much clarity in the end, and I think (Kyle) Jamieson also bowled well. That's the reason why we have three out of three."

 

'Stumped'

KKR skipper Eoin Morgan said he has been 'stumped' by the pitches at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai after his team slumped to a 38-run defeat on Sunday.

Needing 205 to win, KKR was restricted to 166 for eight. "I can't gauge the wicket. Everyone who batted on this wicket felt it played better, but RCB played better," said Morgan after the match.

Varun Chakravarthy, who removed Kohli and Rajat Patidar in his first over inside the Powerplay, was taken off the attack and didn't return until the 13th over. He finished with 2 for 39. Asked if he could have given Varun another over in the first six overs, Morgan said, "Probably not to be honest. Maxwell is a fine player, but to bowl to AB you need to have that [option]."