IPL 2020: Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL 2020 campaign came to an end after losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH) in the Eliminator in Abu Dhabi on Friday. RCB skipper Virat Kohli penned down a heartwarming note for his fans after his side exit from Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) and he thanked them for all their "love and support".
In a game where fortunes sway back and forth, Virat's Men in Red perhaps found themselves 15-20 runs short of a winning total. On a slowish track, RCB could only manage to put 131 runs on the scoreboard and Sunrisers Hyderabad chases down the target in the final over. Former SRH captain Kane Williamson along with Jason Holder finishes calmy in the end and took their side one step closer towards the big IPL 2020 Final which held on November 10.
Simon Katich, RCB's Head coach, felt that the side struggled to maintain in the middle overs due to which the team couldn't set a required tempo with the bat as well as the ball which unfortunately dents their hopes to chase down the maiden IPL title. However, he also praised SRH for keeping them to a below-par score with tight bowling.
RCB skipper Virat Kohli posts heart-touching note for his fans, watch here
Together through the highs and lows. It's been a great journey for us as a unit. Yes things did not go our way but proud of the whole group. Thank you to all our fans for your support. Your love makes us stronger. See you all soon. #PlayBold @RCBTweets ❤️ pic.twitter.com/jIULXT0DLz
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) November 6, 2020
Simon Katich said "We felt we were on track after the 10-game mark and then heading into the last four games, looking back at it now it feels like we ran out of a bit of steam. Particularly with the bat. That's probably the one area that faded a bit after a really good start to the tournament. Credit to the Sunrisers, they squeezed us beautifully, they took early wickets and we were always under pressure trying to play catch-up.
"We realised if we could get a 150 on the board we could be in the game, particularly with the two leggies in the team, seeing the wicket, slow and offering a little bit of turn. To get stuck with our batting today and get only 130 (131) was disappointing and Sunrisers thoroughly deserved to go through," he added.
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Earlier, Royal Challengers took the bold decision of opening with Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal. But both openers felt shortly and unfortunately for the franchise, the plan didn't work as Kohli was dismissed early for just six runs and the young Padikkal out for just scoring a solitary run.
Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH) will now face Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 here on this upcoming Sunday, November 8, 2020. The winner of that match will play the high-voltage clash against the defending champions Mumbai Indians who are already gone through to the IPL final.