'Really-under par. We are not living up': Virat Kohli's FIRST reaction to another IPL heartbreak

RCB's roller-coaster IPL 2024 campaign came to a heartbreaking end on Wednesday when the team lost to Rajasthan Royals by 4 wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad. The team came at the back of immense momentum drawn from the win over CSK on Saturday, but on the day it was Rajasthan Royals, who came up with the goods and advanced to the Qualifier 2. Royal Challengers Bengaluru's loss means the longing for the eminent maiden trophy continues, and now the fans would have to hope for another "Ee Sala Cup Namde" next season. Virat Kohli, who has been an integral part of RCB since the inception of the IPL, has come out to shed light on how the season went for RCB.

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RR vs RCB: Bengaluru's season ends following loss to Rajasthan in IPL 2024 eliminator

After one win in their first seven matches, RCB were down and out with only a 1% chance of survival. For them to qualify for the playoffs, many odds needed to go in their favour viz. They had to attain victories in all their remaining six matches, plus had to register wins by hefty margins. Moreover, they had to remain hopeful that other teams in playoff contention make a blunder somewhere in their journey. As it turns out, all the permutations and combinations hit the right spot, and RCB made a miraculous entry into the playoff. 

They finished fourth in the league standings and hence booked themselves up against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2024 Eliminator. In the match, RR won the toss and opted to field first. Batting first, RCB got to the par total of 172 at the loss of 8 wickets after 20 overs. Virat Kohli (33), Rajat Patidar (34), and Mahipal Lomror (32) did the bulk of the scoring, giving RCB a valid chance. In reply, Rajasthan Royals got the ideal start. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tom Kohler-Cadmore approached the target well. They put on 46 runs for the opening stand. RCB came right back into the match with a double blow in Cameron Green's 10th over. However, as things started to get tricky for RR, Riyan Parag stood up and scored a quick-fire 36 runs to take the match away from RCB. Rovman Powell finished things off in style with a six. Rajasthan Royals won the match by 4 wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin was adjudged the man of the match for his superb spell of 4 overs, 19 runs, and 2 wickets. 

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Virat Kohli opens up on RCB's incredible season

Following the culmination of the match, the team's batting general and the current holder of the Orange Cap, Virat Kohli summed up the season. A dejected Kohli laid out the positives the IPL 2024 season has rendered. 

"To be very honest, the first half of the season was really under-par performance from us. Standards that we have as cricketers, we are not living up to those standards and then we just started expressing ourselves, starting playing for our self-respect, and then the confidence came back. The way we turned things around, and qualified, was truly special, something that I will always-always cherish and remember because it took a lot of character and heart from each member of the team, something that we can be really proud of, and eventually we played the way we wanted t play."

While the IPL 2024 season may have ended on a disappointing note for Virat Kohli, but he still has a lot more to focus on as the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is less than two weeks away. Considering the form he has showcased in IPL 2024, Indian Cricket fans would be hoping to witness yet another masterclass from Virat Kohli.