Virat Kohli happy to see RCB back in playoffs contention

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has said that his side is peaking at the right time in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The Challengers were not in the playoffs contention before their three consecutive wins lately.

The Bangalore outfit jumped up to the third spot following an emphatic win over Pune Warriors India on Friday night. Batting first, the visiting side piled up 173 runs, thanks to brilliant batting by the two openers, Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

In reply, the Warriors kept losing wicket at regular intervals and as a result, scored only 138 runs in 20 overs. Robin Uthappa and Anustup Majumdar played well, but both batsmen lost their wickets in quick succession. Consequently, the Warriors suffered
an embarrassing 35-run loss.

After his side’s another comprehensive win, Kohli lavished praise on his bowlers for their impeccable work in the last two games.

"The last two games, we have bowled well. The bowlers have stepped up and we are peaking at the right time which is good," Kohli said.

When asked why Saurabh Tiwary was sent ahead of the in-form AB de Villiers, the skipper revealed that the move was made to give the Indian enough time to regain his touch.

“We wanted to give Saurabh Tiwary some game time, before we get to the playoffs. AB is a class player, who can bat at any number. Just wanted to make Saurabh more confident about himself," he added.

On the other hand, Pune’s stand-in skipper Steven Smith expressed disappointment over his team’s defeat. However, he enjoyed his job as skipper, saying that it was fun to shoulder the captaincy responsibilities.

"It was good fun. We are already out of the play-offs so had the guys around and wanted to play with a bit of freedom," the Australian said.

Gayle was given the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his blistering half-century. On his wonderful form, the Caribbean superstar shared:

"Yeah timing them well, don’t know whether I am in my best form. I sleep the whole day after breakfast to get in shape for the game."

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on May 12 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry