Watch – Virat Kohli angrily stares at Suryakumar Yadav in MI vs RCB IPL 2020 clash, batsman ice cool
Virat Kohli had an angry stare down at Suryakumar Yadav during the Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL 2020 clash in Abu Dhabi. However, the batsman did not flinch and his conduct was hailed by social media for the focus and intensity after he was left out of the India squad for the tour of Australia.
The IPL 2020 clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore was poised at a very interesting stage. Suryakumar Yadav held the key as Royal Challengers Bangalore looked for some quick wickets. However, the veteran Mumbai player stepped up and thwarted Virat Kohli’s plans as he managed to steady Mumbai Indians. The frustration was soon evident on Virat Kohli and he proceeded to do something in the 13th over of Mumbai Indians’ chase.
After Suryakumar Yadav hit a delivery to cover point, Virat Kohli rushed in and had an angry stare at Suryakumar Yadav. He was near the batsman and stared but Suryakumar Yadav was absolutely unmoved. The right-hander smashed 79* and helped Mumbai Indians to a magnificent five-wicket win as they went to the top of the table with 16 points and have closed in on a spot in the playoffs.
15-20 runs short
Speaking after the end of the match, Virat Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper remarked that the team was 15-20 runs. Devdutt Padikkal smashed 74 but he did not find any support from the rest of the batting. Jasprit Bumrah was the star with 3/10 and in the match, he became the third Mumbai Indians bowler to take 100 wickets in the IPL, with the 100th wicket being that of Kohli.
“It was a strange phase of batting (the last five overs of the RCB innings). Everything went to the fielders and these kind of things happen. They bowled in good areas in the last 5 overs and stopped us 20 runs short. We were in the game until the 17th over and that was a decent effort by our bowlers. It's basically up to the gut of the captain and the conditions, we thought Dale and Morris for initial swing, and Washy in the powerplay. We needed a few wickets there, but their batsmen did a good job. This is always going to happen - some teams peak early and some do better later. As we can see, the teams in the lower half are turning out some really good performances now. When it's a top-two clash, it will always be intense and in a competition like the IPL, you can't expect any team to back down and be blown away,” Kohli said.
Royal Challengers Bangalore now face Sunrisers Hyderabad while Mumbai Indians face a tricky contest against Delhi Capitals as the playoff race intensifies.