April 12 (Punjab Khabarnama) : Royal Challengers Bengaluru faced a fifth loss in the 2024 Indian Premier League on Thursday, facing a seven-wicket defeat to the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. It was another below-par display from the RCB lineup; with the bat, the Royal Challengers put a competitive 196/8 on the board, but the hosts took RCB’s bowling lineup to cleaners, chasing down the target with over four overs to spare.
As their bowlers faced challenges defending the total, a familiar chant emerged from the crowd: ‘Kohli ko bowling do! (Make Kohli bowl!)’. The spectators initiated this request as Virat Kohli prepared to take his fielding position during a strategic time-out.
However, Kohli responded humorously to the chants, quickly dismissing the idea with a playful reaction.
The chant was used regularly during India’s 2023 World Cup matches last year; interestingly, Kohli had bowled during one of India’s group stage matches at the World Cup against the Netherlands and also took a wicket.
Kohli is currently the top run-getter in IPL 2024 with 316 runs to his name in six matches; on Thursday, however, the RCB great endured a rare quiet outing with the bat, as he was dismissed off just 3 off nine deliveries. Jasprit Bumrah, the star MI pacer who took a five-wicket haul in the game, dismissed Kohli.
Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav’s explosive half-centuries propelled the five-time IPL champions to a comfortable seven-wicket victory, achieving the target in just 15.3 overs.
RCB captain Faf du Plessis deployed six bowlers, all of whom conceded at least 10.7 runs per over during the match. The skipper stated following the match that the side’s bowling lineup doesn’t have enough “weapons.”
“I feel like from a batting perspective, we have to push for that 200. We don’t have as many weapons in our bowling. So it comes down to the batting,” Du Plessis told the broadcasters.
RCB face SRH next
The Royal Challengers will next turn up against the Sunrisers Hyderabad as they desperately aim to revive their campaign. SRH clinched a narrow two-run win over the Punjab Kings in their previous match, and currently have three victories from five games.