Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - On April 7, after scoring a fifty against the Mumbai Indians (MI), RCB’s batting ace Virat Kohli praised teammates Devdutt Padikkal and captain Rajat Patidar for their significant roles. He also emphasized the necessity of adapting his gameplay as the formats evolve in Twenty20 cricket.

The spectators at Wankhede Stadium bore witness to an electrifying display from RCB batsmen, with Virat and Patidar scoring impressive half-centuries, complemented by solid contributions from Padikkal and Jitesh Sharma during their match against MI at Wankhede Stadium.

After the innings, Virat commented, “It went quite well. Following the dismissal of Phil Salt on the second delivery, we managed to respond effectively. Dev (Padikkal) delivered an outstanding performance which significantly altered the course of the match in our favor. I also found some rhythm. This collaboration was crucial for setting a competitive target. Early contact with the ball allows me to execute the strokes I intend. I attempted various approaches, including altering my shot selection against spin bowlers and targeting different parts of the field. In Twenty20 cricket, one must continually adapt their gameplay to meet the changing requirements of each situation. Timing the ball accurately from the start enhances my ability to make valuable contributions.”

Virat praised Padikkal for his influential performances as a pinch-hitter in recent matches where RCB lost early wickets, believing that a big innings is imminent for the southpaw.

The collaboration between them proved crucial for extending our batting depth later in the innings, particularly pushing players such as Jitesh Livi (Liam Livingstone) and Tim David toward the latter stages. This aligns closely with Rajat’s usual performance; his contribution alongside Jitesh added around 20-25 additional runs. There was also a period where one of their spinners struggled significantly during this phase. The difficulty faced by the chinaman further contributed another 20-25 runs to our total. As expected when key wickets didn’t fall quickly enough, they lost grip on one of their spinning options early on, which became pivotal since without a reliable spinner, the opposing quick bowlers would struggle more under short boundary conditions.

The pitch wasn’t as simple as it appeared. Hardik kept reducing the speed of the ball and struggled to generate bounce. Nevertheless, we’ve put up a decent total. Fingers crossed; maybe today we can end our losing streak against MI at this ground (RCB has lost their previous six encounters with MI here). Our bowlers are robust, and making early breakthroughs during the Powerplay could be crucial,” he finished.

In the game, MI secured the win during the coin toss and decided to bowl initially. Despite Phil Salt’s quick departure, Virat (scoring 67 runs off 42 deliveries, including eight boundaries and two maximums) along with Devdutt Padikkal (accumulating 37 from 22 balls, featuring two boundaries and three sixes) ensured that MI felt remorseful about choosing to bat second as they launched an aggressive partnership worth 91 runs. Following their dismissals, captain Rajat Patidar (amassing 64 runs in just 32 balls, comprising five boundaries and four sixes), alongside Jitesh Sharma (finishing not out at 40 from only 19 balls, hitting two boundaries and four sixes), kept the scoring rate high. Ultimately, RCB concluded their innings at 221 for 5.

Hardik Pandya (2/45), who leads the team, along with Trent Boult (2/57), secured two wickets each but conceded many runs. Vignesh Puthur also managed to take one wicket. In his return match, Jasprit Bumrah recorded figures of 0/29 over four overs.

To secure their third victory in IPL 2025 and their first at Wankhede Stadium against MI since IPL 2015, RCB must prevent them from scoring 222 runs. (ANI)