After suffering their fourth defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli has blamed poor execution with the ball behind their 15-run loss at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here.
Royal Challengers' bowlers failed to stop Sunrisers' batting attack as the hosts posted a huge target of 195, with skipper David Warner and Kane Williamson contributing 92 and 50 runs respectively.
"I think Sunrisers played really good cricket today. Credit goes to them. Even after losing Shikhar (Dhawan) early. I think they regrouped pretty nicely and put us under pressure throughout. I think David was magnificent throughout and Kane gave him ample support from the other end. So all in all, I can say they were much better than us. Again we lacked execution with the ball and that is sort of hurting us," Kohli said after his side were restricted to 179 runs within their stipulated 20 overs last evening.
The prolific Indian batsman admitted that his side lost all their wickets at crucial stages of the game, but insisted it is the bowling department which needs improvement.
"I think when David got out, we could have stopped them to 180. I think 195 was a bit too much. Me getting out early didn't help either. AB de Villiers was doing nicely in the middle, we lost him at the crucial stage again. So did Watson he got out at the crucial stage. If you see all our wickets, they fell at really important time. But I am not too worried about batting, it is the bowling we need to get better at," he added.
Lokesh Rahul (51) and De Villiers (47) were the significant contributors for Royal Challengers, while Sunrisers' Warner was named 'Man of the Match'.
Kohli's side will play their next match against Kolkata Knight Riders at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Monday.