Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) started their IPL 2020 campaign with a 10-run win over SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Dubai on Monday. RCB skipper Virat Kohli was visibly delighted with how his teammates performed under pressure to start the tournament on a high, something which they weren’t able to do in the past. The RCB posted a video on their Twitter handle with players expressing their emotions post the winning start. “‘A comeback and a half’ says Captain Virat Kohli, as the RCB players rejoice in the dressing room after their 10-run win against SRH. Watch how the players expressed their emotions after the game,” RCB tweeted.

‘A comeback and a half’ says Captain Virat Kohli, as the RCB players rejoice in the dressing room after their 10-run win against SRH.

Watch how the players expressed their emotions after the game. #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #SRHvRCB #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/0KslENJdnM

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) September 22, 2020

Defending totals has never been RCB’s forte over the years and Kohli was full of praise for his bowlers who bowled brilliantly to defend the total under difficult conditions.

It complimented the bowlers for “showing a lot of character” and sticking to their game plan despite bowling with a wet ball, which is hard to grip.

“The fact that we won defending a total, which was not even 170 was not something we have done in the past. On a pitch which was difficult for the bowlers in the second half because of the dew. We saw that in game between Kings XI vs Delhi that it was difficult to for the bowlers to control the ball in the end. So, boys showed a lot of character,” Kohli said in the video.

Apart from bowlers, Kohli also heaped praise on Aaron Finch and young Devdutt Padikkal for giving them a bright start. Padikkal was impressive on his IPL debut and smashed a free-flowing half-century.

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It was AB de Villiers’ power-hitting that helped RCB get to a competitive total. Explaining his game plan after the match, he said: “My goal was to get to 160 when I was batting. I was sure that I was on the right track. I was very happy that we were able to reach 160. I think anything less would have put us under a lot of pressure. Yuzi bowled exceptionally well, Shivam bowled very well and all round a very good performance in the field”.

RCB next face Kings XI Punjab at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 24.