The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stare at an early elimination from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 after suffering their 6th defeat in 7 matches of the campaign. Despite the bitter result against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), RCB coach Andy Flower looked to lift the morale of his team in the dressing room. Flower admitted that every game from here on is a virtual knockout for the team. While some serious comments were made in the dressing room, the coach also reserved a special praise for Dinesh Karthik whose 35-ball 83 took RCB close to SRH's target.
During the speech, Flower also highlighted how Karthik made a big push for T20 World Cup squad selection, though his effort wasn't good enough to take RCB over the line this time.
"It was a really tough night in the field, of course. They finished off so powerfully, that it probably took the wind out of our sails. We will have a think. We will come back stronger. It's obviously knock-out time. Every game is a semi-final for us," Flower said in a video shared by RCB on social media.
"I was really proud of the way you fought with the bat. We lost the game, but I was really proud of the way that you all fought. DK, you are making a push for the World Cup team as well. Well, done mate. You are only getting better," he added.
During the speech, as the camera focused on Kohli, the RCB stalwart looked down and low.
After the game, even RCB skipper Faf du Plessis admitted that the confidence in the team is pretty low, courtesy of 6 losses in the campaign so far. But, the South African focused on giving the remainder of a campaign a fresh push as the franchise looks to continue its fight for a spot in the playoffs.
"Much better (batting performance) from us, that was a proper t20 wicket. Just tried to get close in the end, but 280 was very far. It's tough. We tried a few things, we tried different things. There's no way to hide when your confidence is low. The fast bowlers found it quite difficult out there. Similar to the batting perspective, we need to work on few areas. Need to make sure the run rate doesn't go down after powerplay. The guys put up their hand and never gave up (in the run chase).
"It was good to see the fight, 30-40 runs from the bowling perspective was a bit too much. It's important to go away and freshen your mind, it's such a mental game. Sometimes you feel your mind is going to explode. When you get back to the contest you have to give full commitment," he said after the match.