Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers guided Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to victory against Kolkata Knight Riders, and that makes three wins in three games for RCB in the IPL 2021.  They won by 38 runs, and it was Maxwell’s 78 off 49 and de Villiers’s unbeaten 76 off 36 balls that helped them achieve the victory.

“Maxi has taken to this team like duck to water. AB loves the team and they were the difference today,” said captain Virat Kohli at the post-match presentation. “I said at the halfway mark we have 200 because of two genius innings back-to-back. Maxwell was outstanding and AB to follow. When he gets in with that kind of form and flow, it’s impossible to stop him. We got 40 extra runs on that pitch which slowed down.” Kohli also credited his bowlers for the three wins on the trot.

Also read | Where can I watch IPL 2021 for free?

Kohli added, “Especially Siraj’s over to Russell (giving just one run in the penultimate over), he has had some history against Russell. He’s a different bowler after the Australia tour and he shut the game out”.

“Harshal has so much clarity in the end and I think Jamieson also bowled well. That’s the reason why we have three out of three.” added the RCB skipper.

“To be fair, on a pitch like Chennai, you probably have a bit more space to make an error on the longer boundary. It has to be on the offside and not onside. Siraj did miss on the full-toss, but he has two men on the boundary”.

Also read | Jasprit Bumrah one of the best death bowlers, makes my job easier: Trent Boult

“There are areas we can work on. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves and not getting over-excited.” Man-of-the-match de Villiers said. “Maxi made it easier and it’s difficult coming into a game on a pitch that has been slower. It was a bit of both.

“It wasn’t a 200-wicket; maybe 170 was about par today. The most important thing is I’m enjoying myself and my cricket – my family is here,” said the South African batsman.