Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis was “obviously disappointed” with his side’s 7-wicket thrashing by the hands of the Rajasthan Royals in the Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
But, Faf was also effusive in praise for Sanju Samson’s side, who he said deserved a place in the final more than his own RCB team.
“Obviously disappointed tonight. Came up against a really strong Rajasthan team who probably deserve it[to be in the final] more than us,” du Plessis said in the post match presentation
Three-wicket hauls each from Prasidh Krishna and Obed McCoy restricted RCB to a below-par total of 157, which the Royals chased down comfortably with 11 balls to spare as Jos Buttler struck his fourth century of the season, hammering 106* runs from 60 balls.
Faf du Plessis said that he had felt about 20 or more runs short of a par total on this surface. He asserted that it was like playing Test cricket in the powerplay – where they lost Virat Kohli only in the second over – and was a difficult phase facing the RR pacers with the pitch helping them.
“When we walked off the field, we felt were a few short. Was challenging the first 3-4 overs, was movement. Felt 180 was a par score on that pitch. First six overs felt like Test cricket. Compared to the other wickets, this one was quicker off the new ball, and then it eased off later in the innings,” he explained.
What about the future of RCB?
“Nice young talent in our squad, and obviously with a 3-year plan.. that’s what you try to maximise.. you get them raw at the beginning but they can turn into superstars. We’ve seen that Rajat, since he’s came in, has looked at home. A great future of Indian cricket. You can always pick three Indian teams after the IPL with the amount of young talent coming through. That’s been the most obvious thing when I joined the franchise,” the RCB captain eulogised his young Indian core.
