Mo Bobat, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) Men's Performance Director, has urged the players to put behind the demoralising loss against the SunRisers Hyderabad on Friday, claiming there is still plenty to play for. Bobat said the players can lick their wounds but cannot afford to feel sorry for themselves.
Returning to the field after over a 20-day break, the Royal Challengers had conceded 231/6 against the SunRisers, with Ishan Kishan hitting an unbeaten 94 off 48 deliveries. Although the Royal Challengers rollicked to 72 in the powerplay, they eventually got bowled out for 189 and lost by 42 runs.
In a video shared by RCB on social media, Bobat stated:
"That should be a nice little knock on the chin for us. We got to take stock. What we can't do is feel sorry for ourselves. Lots of cricket still to be played. We come back here in a few days' time to play LSG. So, yeah a lot to play for. So, the boys can't feel sorry for themselves. Got to lick our wounds, be focussed and got to get back to the way we were playing."
"I'm hating the fact that we lost" - Phil Salt
At the post-game press conference, opener Phil Salt, who top-scored for RCB with 62, stated that he would accept a loss now than in a knockout game.
"You can take it as a disappointment or you can take it for what it is. We've qualified but we've lost the game. No one likes to lose games of cricket. I'm hating the fact that we lost, as will everybody else in an RCB shirt, but we'd rather have this now than in an eliminator."
