Bangalore team (RCB) started off with the second phase of the IPL 2021 campaign in the most humiliating way conceivable, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 31 in Abu Dhabi on Monday. The Virat Kohli-led side was defeated by nine wickets, thanks to a slew of poor individual performances. Kohli took it upon himself after the match to urge his teammates for the remaining matches in the UAE. This is also the 32-year-old’s final season as RCB captain, as he confirmed in a statement released immediately before the league’s UAE leg began. The team also released a video blog for the game, which includes pre-game and post-game dressing room interviews.

Kohli began his post-match remarks by urging his colleagues to accept the loss and use it as inspiration for the next games.

“We are better off accepting it immediately and being at peace with it. Not meaning that we don’t look forward to the next one, but it should give us more hunger to get on to the field again and play the cricket that we have played already in this tournament”, said the RCB skipper.

“So, I think it’s about accepting that this kind of a game will happen at some stage. There is no reason why we should react differently to losses”, he said.

“We have to stay pretty balanced as a team if we have to go all the way”, he further added.

RCB’s batting collapsed as they attempted to set a high target, with Kohli getting only five runs. AB de Villiers, a South African veteran, was also dismissed for a golden duck.

RCB’s Devdutt Padikkal led the team in scoring with 22 from 20 balls. In 19 overs, the Bengaluru franchise scored 92 runs.

Against a 93-run target, KKR were at their most aggressive, scoring 94 for one in ten overs.

Shubman Gill smashed 48 runs off 34 balls for the KKR openers. Venkatesh Iyer, on the other hand, remained unbeaten after scoring 41 runs in 27 balls.

On Friday, RCB will take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 35 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.