As Virat Kohli goes through his second-worst lean patch in his Indian Premier League (IPL) career, his skipper Faf du Plessis has not lost faith in him. After opening the innings with Kohli did not work against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Du Plessis explained why he took the decision. Du Plessis said that he wants Kohli to get into action straightaway instead of sitting on the sidelines.
“Great players go through phases like this. We wanted him to get in straightaway so that he doesn't sit on the sidelines and think about the game. He is a great player and we still back him to turn it around and hopefully it's around the corner. It's a game of confidence,” the 37-year-old said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
At Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium, Pune, RCB needed 145 to win the game after a superb bowling display barring the last two overs. The run chase did not get off to the start they would have hoped as Kohli got out in the second over after playing a loose shot off Prasidh Krishna. He scored just nine runs from 10 deliveries after two consecutive golden ducks against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) respectively.
“It's pretty similar to the previous game we played, there is a little bit of inconsistent bounce. We gave 20 runs too many and the dropped catch cost us 25. 140 was a par score on that pitch. That's the thing we need to fix [the top-order batting]. The basics of the game doesn't change. You needed someone in the top four to bat through and we have not done it,” Du Plessis said after the top four batters contributed just 48 runs in the run chase.
Du Plessis has also hinted at a few changes in the batting order as they need a few wins from the remaining matches to stay in the race of playoffs.
“We have to try to change the batting order and see if that works. We have to try and play positively. That's what we discussed after the last game, trying to get the best out of him [on Kohli],” he added.
RCB are currently in the fifth position on the points table with five wins from nine games. However, they have a poor net run rate (NRR) of -0.572 which can come into play in the later stages of the tournament.
