Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally provided their home supporters with a reason to celebrate after ending a three-match losing streak at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium with an exciting 11-run victory over Rajasthan Royals on Thursday. It was an exhilarating match in Bengaluru, where both teams took turns having the advantage before RCB ultimately maintained their composure to secure the win while defending a target of 206 runs.

Virat Kohli was once again the highlight of the match with his batting, producing an outstanding 70 runs off 42 balls, but he wore a wry smile and made a rather playful comment in his post-match interview about their home performance, which suggested a deeper frustration now mixed with relief. When asked about the difficulties he encounters as an opening batsman while playing in Bengaluru, Kohli amusingly responded to JioHotstar, “The first challenge is winning the toss (chuckles). "

"In the second half, there is always dew. We’ve had trouble setting a competitive score," Kohli remarked after RCB finally figured out how to win at home.

It was a statement made with humor but containing a kernel of truth, given that RCB had lost the toss in all four of their home matches this season. Their previously perfect away record – five victories in five on the road – made their struggles at home all the more perplexing.

Kohli on batting unit

Thursday Night, however, introduced a change. Once again asked to bat first, Kohli took the lead with a smooth 70, laying the groundwork alongside Devdutt Padikkal, who struck 50 off only 27 balls. The duo put together a 95-run partnership for the second wicket, providing RCB with the strong base they had desperately needed in previous home matches. A late surge brought them to 205/5, which turned out to be just sufficient.

“Listen, we've experienced three quite mediocre games at home, and we talked about a few aspects we needed to correct as a batting unit, and we focused well to put the total on the board,” Kohli mentioned, emphasizing the reflection that followed RCB's series of home losses. “The pitch wasn't as flat as the score suggests. Dew helped the ball come onto the bat nicely in the second half, and credit goes to Rajasthan for stepping up and executing some good shots. ”

With RR comfortably positioned at 110/2 at one point, it required a late burst of excellence from Josh Hazlewood (4/33) to turn the momentum. The Australian pacer maintained his composure in the final moments, including an outstanding penultimate over that swung the match decisively in RCB's favor.

Kohli also highlighted the team’s renewed clarity in their strategy: “The approach is now quite straightforward, for one player to bat through while the others attack around him. Devdutt and I are familiar with this ground. We just wanted to let Salt play his game at the top. ”

“Today we simply aimed to time the ball and maintain enough pressure on the opposition to keep receiving boundary balls,” he added.

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