RCB in IPL 2023: Epic knocks from Virat Kohli (82 unbeaten off 49 balls) and skipper Faf du Plessis (73 off 43 balls), their solid 148-run partnership after opening the chase, helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners Mumbai Indians by 8 wickets in their IPL 2023 tournament-opener on Sunday (April 3). After his team's clinical win over Rohit Sharma & Co., RCB legend Virat Kohli hoped that the team maintains momentum by not losing focus and executing things properly.
"Phenomenal win. Homecoming after so many years. Credit to their batters for getting to that score. Tilak (Varma) batted well. We kept backing ourselves. Faf went first, and I joined later. I am very happy with how things went today," said Kohli after the match as per PTI.
"Apart from Mumbai winning five times and Chennai four times, we have qualified the most number of times, so we do play consistent cricket. It's just about staying focused, and just try to be the best balanced team. We need to play on this momentum. We just need to execute better." Mohammed Siraj set the tone with figures of 3-0-5-1 after three overs to leave MI at 20 for three in 5.2 overs.
"The new ball was a bit tricky, but we shifted the momentum by taking them down with the new ball. We nullified all their intensity. The wicket was quite a nice one. We hit good areas and kept putting pressure on the bowlers," Kohli said.
Karn Sharma produced a good spell, picking up two wickets from his four overs.
"He (Karn) was phenomenal, when he got that left-hander out, that was great bowling. He was bowling so well last year. He was ready to play. Even in the nets, he was not getting hit for sixes.
"He put us on the front foot right away. The first game of the IPL, and to perform like that was great." RCB captain and player of the match Faf Du Plessis credited the bowlers for setting up the game but admitted that they need to improve in the slog overs after conceding 48 in last 17 balls.
"Nice to start the way we did. In the powerplay, Siraj had the tail up and he set the tone. Right through the innings, our bowlers stuck to the plans.
"Obviously last 2-3 overs something to improve on. If you took pace off the ball, it wasn't too easy to play and there was something in it for the spinners," Kohli said.