Mumbai: Virat Kohli became the highest run-getter in Indian Premier League during his 92-run innings against Mumbai Indians but the star batsman said it doesn’t really matter as his effort couldn’t ensure a victory for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Kohli’s 62-ball knock went in vain as RCB finished at 167-9 in 20 overs while chasing MI’s 213-6, built largely around skipper Rohit Sharma’s 52-ball 94. This was their third defeat in four matches with a 46-run loss.
“I don’t feel like wearing this (orange cap) right now because it really doesn’t matter,” said Kohli, who took his IPL total to 4,619 runs in 153 matches, surpassing Chennai Super Kings’ Suresh Raina (4,558).
“We got off to a great start but we just threw it away, and need to reflect on our dismissals. We knew there would be a little bit of dew, we needed not your 40-45s but 80-85s. In the end it was all about making sure that the run-rate doesn’t take a hit; credit to Mumbai though, they bowled really well.”
Kohli said Mumbai Indians showed great resilience after losing early wickets.
“We didn’t get any chances, we bowled in the areas we thought were good but they counter-attacked well. When you have your backs against the wall you do come out with a performance like this and that’s what they did,” the 29-year-old said.
“Even after they were two wickets down they showed resilience like good teams do. We tried our hardest but we just couldn’t get wickets in the middle stages.”
Leg-spinner Mayank Markande was excited after receiving the purple cap.
“I am really glad to get the purple cap again. Really feels nice to compete with world class bowlers like Narine and Woakes. Yes, he (pointing to Krunal beside him) helps a lot both during a match and in the nets. It’s been really good.”
