Virat Kohli reflected on RCB’s journey after the team crashed out of IPL 2024. On Wednesday, May 22, the Challengers were shown the door of elimination as they lost to Sanju Samson’s RR by 4 wickets in the Eliminator at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. At one point in time, RCB were struggling to get off the bottom of the table.
Needing to win all their last 6 matches in the league phase, they went on a winning-spree and made their way through to the playoffs. Kohli admitted that RCB were not up to the mark in the initial stages before they found their feet.
“Our performance in the first half of the season was under-par. The standards that we have as cricketers, we were not living up to them. And then, we just started expressing ourselves, started playing for our own self-respect and then the confidence came back,” Kohli said in a video uploaded on RCB’s social media handles.
Earlier, RCB beat the mighty CSK by 27 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The knock not only took the Challengers to the playoffs, but also knocked the Super Kings out of the playoffs race.
“The way we turned things around and qualified was truly special, something that I will always cherish and remember because it took a lot of character and heart from each member of the team, something that we can be proud of. Eventually we played how we wanted to play,” Kohli said.
Kohli also thanked the RCB fans for sticking with the team through thick and thin. After they got the better of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s CSK, the fans took to the streets to celebrate.
“The support from fans is unwavering. This season was exactly the same, it wasn’t any different. Will always be thankful for that and will always be grateful for the way they turn out in numbers, not just in Bengaluru but all over the country where we play. Thank you so much for your support and wishes,” Kohli added.
