Andy Flower’s profile picture© BCCI/IPL
After suffering their sixth defeat in seven games in the Indian Premier League, Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Andy Flower admitted that the remaining seven matches must be treated like semi-finals. RCB faced Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday, trailing by 25 runs in the latest setback to their playoff aspirations.
“Obviously it’s the knockout stages now and every game is like a semi-final for us now. But we have to think we will come out stronger,” Flower said on the RCB match day.
RCB conceded the highest total in IPL history – 287 for three – and the Hyderabad batsmen performed admirably against directionless bowlers.
Flower admitted it was a tough night for his team.
“Of course it was a very difficult night on the pitch because they played so strongly that it felt lost in our souls,” he said.
However, Flower found some positives in RCB’s chase such as Dinesh Karthik’s highest 83 off 35 balls and captain Faf Du Plessis’s 28 balls for 62 balls.
The Zimbabweans hope to build on their success in the upcoming games.
“I’m very proud of the way we fought with the bat in the middle. We lost the game, but I’m very proud of the way we fought,” Flower said.
The former England coach praised Karthik for the way he handled SRH’s bowlers and said it would not be a surprise if the wicketkeeper-batsman makes it into India’s T20 World Cup squad.
“Dinesh Kartik has also really contributed to the (Indian) World Cup team and will only get better on the field,” he added.
RCB will next face Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on April 21. PTI UNG PDS PDS
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