Premier New Zealand batter Kane Williamson feels Virat Kohli’s dismissal in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s eight-wicket defeat to Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 was just a case of how situations like this happen on certain occasions. At the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Kohli was cramped on the pull and was caught at deep square leg off left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder Arshad Khan for just seven. “It was just an instinctive shot-one that Virat has played a million times before. This time, it went straight to the fielder. He’s hit it for six plenty of times, he’s flicked it along the ground, but sometimes, that’s just how the game goes,” said Williamson on JioHotstar.
“It was a huge wicket for GT because Virat at Chinnaswamy is incredibly destructive. He has scored around 3,000 runs here and knows how to bat long and play match-winning knocks. So, getting him out early was crucial for Gujarat Titans,” he added.
RCB had come into their first home game on the back of winning their first two matches, but their victorious march was halted by GT, who adapted better with bat and ball on a pitch which wasn’t exactly a batting paradise. Asked on what RCB could do differently after the defeat to GT, Williamson felt they need to stitch bigger partnerships as a batting unit.
“There’s a growing trend in the TATA IPL where teams are constantly aiming for high totals, especially at venues like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, where big scores seem achievable. But sometimes, in the pursuit of those high totals, you can get ahead of yourself.
“After losing a couple of early wickets, it’s important to consolidate and build a partnership. If you have wickets in hand, the last 10 overs can be really productive, going at 14 runs per over or more. Perhaps, RCB might reflect on this game and feel that if they had batted together for a few more overs, they could have set themselves up better.
“They played incredibly well in the first two games, but they might look back and think that a different approach in the middle overs could have put them in a stronger position on this wicket, which had some assistance for seam bowlers,” he elaborated.
RCB, captained by Rajat Patidar, will have a four-day break before they travel to Mumbai to play against five-time champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 7.
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