Mumbai, Apr 28: Booed by a section of a crowd at the Wankhede Stadium here, Royal Challengers skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday (April 27) retorted by saying the fans “forgot” that he represents the Indian cricket team also.
“The IPL is not the end of the world, they are forgetting I play for India as well,” Kohli said following his side’s heavy defeat to hosts Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
A few heads totting the stands at the Wankhede, booed as Kohli walked out for the presentation ceremony.
After posting 194 for seven in 20 overs, Mumbai Indians restricted RCB to 136 for seven and comfortably won the game by 58 runs.
“The top four are not going to click in every game, this was one of those days when it didn’t click. We have to pick ourselves up. Hopefully, we can re-group,” Kohli said.
Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma was full of praise for Dhawal Kulkarni, who rocked the RCB top-order with three wickets.
“We pretty much did everything well today, right from the batting and we finished off pretty well. Special mention to Dhawal Kulkarni, first game for him, it was a tremendous effort from him. I just don`t want to get carried away too much,” Sharma said.
Man of the Match Dwayne Smith, who laid the foundation for Mumbai with a blazing fifty, said, “We didn`t have a good start at the top in the first couple of games… It was a very good pitch.”
Kohli said he could not understand the crowd behaviour at the Wankhede.
“…I don’t know what is wrong with people in this venue. It feels a bit weird because at the end of the day you play for India and you don’t come here to be hated. Whoever wins or loses, in any of the games, you come to Bangalore, every captain is cheered, every Indian player is cheered.
“People appreciate good cricket. I don’t know why people have so much aggression and so much hatred towards other teams in this particular venue. As I said, IPL is not the end of the world,” Kohli said in the post-match media conference.
On the runout incident, Kohli explained, “Well, it is very important to have knowledge of cricket. If it was any intentional interruption from the bowler then the umpire would have stopped the batsman.
“It is his job not mine. The umpire told me it was there. The bowler didn’t see the batsman and the batsman didn’t see the bowler, and they collided. It was perfectly fine to be honest,” he said.
“You should have that much cricket awareness to see where the bowler is coming back to his mark. He has to back up when there is no one behind him.”
Mumbai Indians player Dwayne Smith refused to get drawn into the debate and merely said, “It was a case of fair play but you can’t do anything about it. They decided to go against it.”
