Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star batter Virat Kohli finally wore a big grin on his face after the team put an end to their six-match winless streak in the IPL 2024 clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday, April 25.
RCB were on the back of six losses on the trot when they took on SRH in a crucial match for the former team. However, the visitors heaved a sigh of relief after the team ended their losing streak to end second win of the ongoing IPL season.
After posting a total of 206/7 in 20 overs, thanks to half-centuries by Rajat Patidar (50) and Virat Kohli (51), Royal Challengers Bengaluru circumscribed Sunrisers Hyderabad to 171/8. Karn Sharma, Cameron Green and Swapnil Singh picked two wickets each while Will Jacks and Yash Dayal picked a scalp each.
In a video shared by Indian Premier League on its X handle (formerly Twitter), RCB players were seen celebrating the win but Virat Kohli was sported with big grin on his face as he hugged his teammates after an important victory for the team.
Sunrisers Hyderabad lost an early wicket in opener Travis Head, dismissed by Will Jacks at 3/1. Then, the hosts lost three more wickets in Abhishek Sharma (31), Aiden Markram (7) and Heinrich Klassen (7) and they were reduced to 56/4 in five overs. Skipper Pat Cummins hit few blows in the lower order as he scored 31 off 15 balls, including a four and three sixes.
Shahbaz Ahmed remained unbeaten on 40 off 37 balls as the home side fell 35 runs short of achieving 207-run target.
'Will sleep easier tonight': RCB skipper Faf du Plessis
Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis asserted that this team would sleep easier after ending their losing streak. He added that performance is the only way to gain players' confidence.
"We've been close for a while, but you need to win matches to get confidence as a group. Will sleep easier tonight. You can't speak confidence into the group, can't fake confidence into the group. Only thing that gives confidence is performances." du Plessis said at the post-match presentation.
"The competition is so strong, the teams are so strong that you'll get hurt if you're not at 100 percent. More guys scoring runs now." he added.
Despite win against SRH, RCB continues to remain at the bottom of the points table with two wins and seven losses after nine matches.
