Evidently disappointed after Royal Challengers succumbed to an eight-run defeat at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad, home coach Daniel Vettori was fulsome in his praise for the victors.
A big chase appeared in control until the three RCB stars — Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers — vanished in quick succession to break the fans’ hearts on their home turf.
Failing in their third attempt at glory, coach Vettori said, “I think just when we required a couple of guys to kick on, we weren’t able to give that momentum that Chris and others had established for us. So, I think Sunrisers grabbed their opportunities and got wickets at crucial times,” said the RCB coach.
“But we obviously believed that we could go all the way but weren’t able to finish it off,” admitted the New Zealander.
In their roller-coaster campaign, RCB rose from the abyss reeling off seven wins from eight games owing to master-class innings from skipper Kohli. “The mood is a bit down at the moment. At some point we will reflect on the tournament and obviously be proud of a lot of things we did — to come from near bottom to qualifying for the final,” stated Vettori.
Apart from the top trio, the youngsters have chipped in when it required and the former New Zealand Test skipper was quick to praise them. “If you actually look at the performances of KL Rahul, he has been exceptional batting at No. 4. Sachin Baby has come in and done a fantastic job striking over a 150 (average),” added the Kiwi.
With most of the IPL teams opting to chase after winning the toss, Vettori was quite surprised with SRH captain David Warner’s brave decision to bat first at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. “Probably... we were I think. But I am sure they looked at the conditions from the last game and expected something similar. So, it was a brave decision, but obviously one that paid off,” said the 37-year-old.
After SRH piled up a big total on the board courtesy late fireworks from Ben Cutting, Vettori felt his team had enough firepower to overhaul the target. “We have proved through the tournament that we can score such sort of runs here at the Chinnaswamy. It’s a ground that’s good for chasing.”
Apart from Warner’s pyrotechnics, Vettori mentioned that tight spells at death from SRH’s key bowlers — Mustafizur Rahman and Purple Cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar — scripted their victory. Vettori then touched upon the similarity in Kohli’s and Warner’s approach.
“The effort they (Kohli and Warner) put on the field, the passion that they show, coupled with the performance, the amount of the runs they both score makes them natural leaders. You saw both at their finest tonight and throughout the tournament,” he concluded.
