- By Sports desk
- Mon, 11 May 2026 02:09 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting great Virat Kohli delivered a special speech in the team's dressing room after their thrilling win against the Mumbai Indians. RCB who lost their last two matches before facing MI, have sealed the top spot in the points table after a two-wicket win in their last encounter at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur.
Virat Kohli's dressing room speech
Kohli, who himself got out on a golden duck, lauded RCB's team effort in their win and specially mentioned Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for their outstanding performance. RCB took their Instagram to share the clip, here is the video:
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“Hey guys, I’m gonna keep it short. I’m gonna wrap it up tonight. Thanks, Andy (Flower), for giving me a chance to do something in the game today," Kohli joked.
“But guys, look, if you want to win multi-team competitions, we need a team. We need a game like that. We need to scrap for a win. We need to fight hard."
“And we know the feeling in the group. We’re just talking about the game, how we started off, I think again. Bhuvi, brilliant in the Power Play Movie or your execution, your skills, you are absolutely world-class. I think it was a sixth three-wicket haul of the season, 11 games, which is crazy," kohli added.
How Bhuvneshwar Kumar boosed his confidence?
Bhuvneshwar who was the pick of the bowlers against MI with four scalps, admitted that a couple of good performances help a player to get confident. He also thanked the fielders for taking catches to shift the momentum of the game.
“The good thing is that whatever I’m doing or trying to do it, it’s happening. And I think it’s all about confidence. When you start IPL, you go through a couple of good matches, then your confidence goes up. And I think, yes, I don’t want to change it, but whatever I’m trying to do, it’s happening. It’s execution is spot on, getting wickets and, of course, getting help from fielders to catch those crucial touches. So yes, I mean things work out" said Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Kohli lauded RCB's bowlers
Kohli also lauded RCB's bowlers who restricted MI on 166 runs despite Tilak Varma (57 off 42) and Naman Dhir's (47 off 32) 82 off 57 balls stand in the middle.
“Shefi (Romario Shepherd), the way you bowl tonight, what stop notch and you showed us what you can do when you feel confident with the ball in hand and you can hit your areas. You have the skill, and we all back you to execute your skills every time. So well done on that."
“KP (Krunal), always can bank on you under pressure or any kind of situation. Again, brilliant with the balls. Suyash (Sharma) did his job as well. Rasikh (Salam Dar) was great too," he added.
“With the bat, we didn’t get off to the best start. We know that. But like the last game, we’ve had two games where we haven’t had the best starts, but last game, Rajat stepped up, along with KP contributing. TD (Tim David) made, you know, I mean, impact in the last game, this game around again, stuck in got us an important partnership with KP. So that contribution was crucial for us to change the score down. So well done," Kohli said.
Virat Kohli on Krunal Pandya's batting despite cramps
Kohli specially mentioned Krunal Pandya, who single-handedly shifted the momentum during RCB's chase despite suffering from cramps. Notably, Krunal played a fighting 46-ball 73 knock. After that, RCB needed 15 from the last six balls. Bhuvneshwar Kumar then blasted a six before Rasikh Salam Dar knocked off the winning runs.
ALSO READ: ‘Both Legs Were Cramping’: Krunal Pandya Shares Struggle Behind Crucial Knock vs MI
“I think it’s the best ideal knock. So far from what I’ve seen, we’ve played a lot of knocks under pressure, but I think tonight was special. We’re struggling with bouncing balls hitting you. You know, keeping low, bouncing up, but you never made an excuse. You just showed us how to grind, how to stay in there, find a solution, find a way. And even when you were cramping, those two sixes were actually the difference in the game, where you could have easily said, I can’t carry on, but, you know, you found the strength to carry on for the future. We can take a lot of inspiration from that," Kohli added.
RCB's IPL 2026 Qualification Scenario
After defeating MI, RCB sealed the top spot in the IPL 2026 points table with 14 points. The defending champions will now face Kolkata Knight Riders in their upcoming clash at the same venue. The Bengaluru-based franchise now needs to win one out of its three matches to qualify for the playoffs of the cash-rich league.