Kohli relieved win against Rajasthan was not last-over finish

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli was a relieved man after his side registered a comfortable 7-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in Bengaluru.

Kohli, who has witnessed close matches, was pleased that RCB finished the chase in the 18th over and did not take the match to the last over.

"Thankfully, it was not a last-ball finish and I am proud of the way the team chased the total down today. It was a smart chase by us and was good to see Saurabh Tiwary doing his job with Chris Gayle right till the end," Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Kohli, the leading run-getter this season, failed to disturb the scorers much on Saturday as he scored just 1 after his side bowled out Rajasthan for 117.

The right-hander was all praise for his bowlers. "It was a combined effort by the bowlers on a wicket that was good all through the game. I just told them to make a plan and even if you don't succeed try and make another plan to disturb the opposition. So I gave them the freedom to employ their strategies."

Gayle, known for his swashbuckling style of batting preferred to anchor the chase and made sure that he was in the middle till the end. He and Tiwary shared an unbeaten 59-run stand to take RCB home.

"It was good to finish the game for the side. Nice to see Saurabh getting amongst the runs but overall it was the bowlers who set the game up for us to finish," said Gayle after finishing the match with his lone six of the day.

Vinay Kumar, who picked up 3 for 18 in a Man of the Match effort, was satisfied with his showing.

"I am satisfied with my performance here. Chinnaswamy wicket is always good for fast bowlers. I was happy to plan the way I got Stuart Binny out with a short ball," he said after winning the award.

Rahul Dravid, who top scored for Rajasthan with 35, said his side was outplayed by the home team.

"It is always good to be back here in Bangalore, but Royal Challengers outplayed us today. We do not have a deep batting line up and we did not bat well enough as we would have liked to do. Having said that it was heartening to see our bowlers fight in defending such a small score," he said.