RCB skipper Virat Kohli rips apart on-field umpire after Lasith Malinga’s no-ball escape leads to MI’s win

Indian skipper Virat Kohli is an animated character on the field. He never shies away from expressing his emotions and isn’t one to mince his words when the situation demands. Such a side of the prolific batsman was witnessed following Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)’s 6-run defeat to Mumbai Indians (MI) in what was their first home game in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 edition.

With 7 required off the last ball, MI’s Lasith Malinga bowled one right at the blockhole as Shivam Dube just managed a single at the deep. However, the tv replays showed that it was a clear front foot no-ball from the Sri Lankan which went unnoticed by the umpire. As a result, Kohli was left red-faced and looked pretty disappointed at the blunder which eventually led to RCB losing their second game on the trot in the tournament.

On being asked about the narrow escape for MI, a dejected Kohli stated, “We are playing at the IPL level and not playing club cricket. The umpires should have had their eyes open. That is a ridiculous call at the last ball. If it is a game of margins, I don’t know what is happening. They should have been more sharp and careful out there.”

The 30-year-old blasted the on-field decision making and rightly stated that they need to up their game in the forthcoming matches. However, Kohli was graceful enough to accept that RCB let go of the momentum when after reducing MI to 147 for 7 from a scoreline of 142 for 3. In this regard, he opined, “When they were 145 for 7, we should have done better. The last few overs were brutal for us. A few more strikes apart from AB could have done the job for us. We need to be smarter at death bowling. Sure the guys will take a lot of learnings from the game. I think the way they bowled, we can learn from their game.

In pursuit of 188, RCB were on course for a victory when Kohli and AB de Villiers were in the middle. Kohli had started off with a bang and took on Jasprit Bumrah for three consecutive boundaries. He looked in his elements and amassed the fastest 5000 runs in the tournament history. He, thus, also became the second batsman after Suresh Raina to enter the 5000-run club in IPL history.

However, Kohli’s dismissal of Bumrah changed the complexion of the game. While the right-hander was the first to admit that he should have seen through Bumrah and taken on someone else but expected the others to have hung around.

RCB will next play Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 31 (Sunday) at their home ground, Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, in Hyderabad.