Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Mumbai Indians by 8 wickets in their first IPL 2023 game in a rather comfortable manner. After their victory against Mumbai Indians, RCB star batter Virat Kohli applauded his team’s consistency in the Indian Premier League and stated that RCB is the third team to have qualified the most times to the playoffs.
RCB is the third team to have qualified the most times to the playoffs: Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli made a formidable opening partnership with his skipper Faf du Plessis. The RCB openers formed a match-winning 148-run partnership off 89 balls and took the game away from Mumbai Indians. Virat attended the post-match press conference and spoke about his team’s consistency over the years.
“I wanted to mention this for a while – after MI who have 5 titles and CSK who have 4, if I’m not wrong, we are the third team to have qualified the most times to the playoffs – 8 times,” Kohli told the broadcasters in the post-match press conference.
As Virat Kohli mentioned, RCB has been one of the most consistent sides in the cash-rich league for the past few years. They have qualified for the play-offs 8 times and have played the final three times. Unfortunately, they haven’t clinched the IPL title yet.
We wanted to win with balls to spare as it will benefit the NRR: Kohli
Mumbai Indians had posted a competitive total of 171-7 in their 20 overs. However, the RCB openers looked in some hurry as they got the momentum going right from the first ball. Eventually they chased down the total in just 16.2 overs which gave their net run rate a mega boost.
“It was a very comprehensive win and we wanted to win with balls to spare as it will benefit the NRR. The new ball was tricky, that’s where we shifted the momentum, they can ride on that momentum from the last two overs of their batting but the way we started nullified all that momentum. We kept the pressure on the bowlers,” Virat Kohli said after the match against Mumbai Indians.
Virat Kohli smashed 82 runs off just 49 deliveries including 6 fours and 5 maximums. Skipper Faf du Plessis scored 73 runs off just 43 balls including 5 fours and 6 maximums. Glenn Maxwell did the remaining job as he smashed 2 sixes in just 3 balls as RCB defeated MI by 8 wickets with 22 deliveries remaining.