Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) produced a spirited fight with the bat while chasing a mammoth target of 288 runs in their previous Indian Premier League (IPL) contest at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and head coach Andy Flower said they will take positives out of the match and they will come back stronger in the upcoming game.
RCB began the innings on a positive note with captain Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli making an 80-run stand for the first wicket before Dinesh Karthik produced an astonishing innings late in the game to win the hearts of RCB fans. “I am proud of the way we fought with the bat out there in the middle. We lost the game but I was really proud of the way we fought,” said Andy Flower in a video on the RCB website.
The head coach also recognized that the team will take a lot of confidence from the match after a strong performance with the bat and every game is a knockout game for the team now in order to qualify for the playoffs of the Indian Premier League. “It was a really tough night in the field of course as they finished so powerfully that it probably took the wind out of our souls. We will have a think and we will come back stronger, It is obviously knockout time and every game is like a semi-final for us.”
Dinesh Karthik, who played a brilliant 83-run inning off just 35 balls with the help of five fours and seven sixes, also received big praise from Andy Flower. “Dinesh Karthik is really making a push for the World Cup team as well and is only getting better on the field,” the head coach concluded. RCB will play their upcoming match in the IPL at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
