Royal Challengers Bengaluru reached a respectable total of 183 runs while batting first as they took on Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match on Saturday. Virat Kohli's 113 off 72 balls paved the way for the Bengaluru franchise to reach the total but Sanju Samson's Rajasthan didn't incur much trouble in chasing down the target, thanks to Jos Buttler's fiery hundred. While many reckoned that 183 would be enough on the tricky pitch, former India opener Virender Sehwag said during the mid-innings break that RCB were probably 20 runs short.
But that verdict from Sehwag didn't come in an instance, with the retired opening batter taking a cheeky dig at the presenter for asking him the difficult questions around RCB's total and their players' performances.
"Tu bhi jawab de skta hai, hamein kyun fasata hai? (You can also answer. Why ask all the difficult questions from us). You make us do all the bad things. Is 183 enough? Did Virat Kohli play slow? Did Faf du Plessis play slow? But, to be honest, it feels like RCB are about 20 runs short. Considering the opening start they got, RCB should've gotten to 200," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag sympathised with Kohli who has been facing plenty of flak over his inability to accelerate at a rapid-rate. Sehwag said while Kohli could've scored faster, he also lacked support from other batters in the team.
"Yes, Virat Kohli did score a ton. But, he is the only batter in form, no other RCB player is scoring runs. Good that he played till the end but he had no support at the other end. Maxwell, Green didn't do much. I would ask where was Lomror, Dinesh Karthik. The two batters in form, one of them wasn't even seen," Sehwag asserted.
Viru, as Sehwag is popularly known, also questioned the management's decision to not send the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Mahpal Lomror to accelerate the run-rate.
"They should've come. You say Dinesh Karthik is a brilliant striker in the last 5 overs. He should've been brought in. I can't understand what RCB are doing," he pointed out.