Their game plan was right – Anil Kumble on RCB’s defeat against SRH

RCB's quest for a top two position on the points table took a bit of a hit after they were outclassed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the  Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Despite a phenomenal start from Virat Kohli and Phil Salt, an unfortunate collapse towards the end is what proved to be the unravelling for RCB in their penultimate group stage game.

Virat Kohli and Phil Salt gave them the much-needed firepower at the top. However, things looked dicey when RCB lost Mayank Agarwal cheaply and once Rajat Patidar - who came in as the impact player - was back in the dugout, RCB's batting unit toppled like a house of cards in front of SRH’s raging attack.

Former RCB captain, Anil Kumble, opened up on what were the positives for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru against SRH. Talking on ESPNCricinfo’s Time Out, Kumble said, “The start was extremely good. Though Virat Kohli was the dominant partner in the opening stand with Phil Salt, who was playing after a month and looked rusty, one of them needed to bat deep.”

He further added, “If that had happened, we would be talking about an RCB win. I also think that the 25-odd balls that Mayank [Agarwal] and Rajat Patidar played together made it tough for RCB. But their game plan was right. The fall of wickets and Tim David's injury didn't help."