RCB's Last-Over Loss: Karthik Reflects on Runs Shortfall in DC Thriller

RCB posted a competitive total on a challenging surface, with Phil Salt (63 off 38) leading the charge through a composed half-century, his second of the season and sixth overall for the franchise. But a quieter final five overs meant the hosts finished slightly below what looked possible at one stage. Batting Coach Dinesh Karthik reflected on the team's effort and said the team performed well on a difficult batting pitch for most of the innings, but fell short of runs in the final five overs. He praised their strong bowling, committed fielding, and overall effort, noting that despite their performance, two quality opposition batters finished the game strongly.

"It was a tough pitch to bat and we played quite well for about 75% of the innings. But yes, in the last five overs we probably didn't get as many runs as we wanted, but we bowled so well. We fielded our skin out. We did everything possible and showed the kind of commitment that players have toward the team. But towards the end, we got two great batters who came in and absolutely smashed it. And that happens in a T20 game," he said as per a release.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was once again the standout performer, delivering his best figures for the franchise with 3/26, surpassing his effort from the previous match. It also marked his third three-wicket haul of the season, underlining his consistency with the ball. Tight spells from the rest of the attack ensured the game was pushed deep, with RCB keeping the pressure on well into the final overs.

"Bhuvi and Hoffs' (Josh Hazelwood) overs were so good and Rasikh as well. The 19th over was on point and obviously we tried to take it as deep as possible. Then Shepherd had a couple of good balls and a couple of rubbly shots from David Miller as well. So overall, happy with the bowling effort. Could we have done a little better? Definitely. In a game like this, that's what you're always thinking, where could we have done a little better 10% here and there. Credit to Delhi Capitals as well, I thought they played very nicely," Karthik highlighted the execution in key moments with the ball.

All-rounder Krunal Pandya emphasised the learnings from a narrow defeat saying, "Slightly gutted that today we didn't get the desired result. I always believe that either there is winning or learning, there's no losing. So we have learned a lot today and we'll rectify the minor things which we can do better as a team and we'll come back stronger."

Head Coach Andy Flower backed the players in the closing stages, adding, "Shepherd, we are 100% behind you. Those are two world-class finishers and we've got to give them credit as well."

Karthik further underlined the team's mindset saying, "Understanding where we could have done a little better is number one, and you want them to have that fighting spirit, the belief that we can take the game deep. At no point did we feel that we were a few runs short. We also had some lovely catches, great stops, we made 175 feel like 190, which is all you can do.

And probably towards the back end, if it got a little lucky for a couple more balls, you never know. But overall, the fighting spirit and the attitude shown by the 12 that took the field was very fulfilling in terms of heart and the mindset they went in with. That's encouraging for us as a team."

The match also marked a historic milestone, becoming the 100th IPL game hosted at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, the most for any venue in the tournament, with RCB the only team to have played all 100 matches at a single venue. Adding to the occasion's significance, it was on this very date and ground that the first-ever IPL match was played back in 2008.

- ANI