IPL 2017, RCB VS RPS: PUNE BOWLERS OUT-CLASS ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE, AS BEN STOKES STEALS THE SHOW

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Rising Pune Supergiant beats Royal Challengers Bangalore despite putting up low total 161/8 on the scoreboard.

RPS bowlers won the match for them, as they put up a superb bowling effort to out-class star RCB batsman. Ben stokes was the star of the bowling attack as he picked up 4 wickets and also claimed the Man of the Match.  

Smith: We were probably in a pretty good position at one point, but lost our way in the middle, losing probably 6 for 2 or something like that. You don’t win a lot of games after doing that. Manoj Tiwary finished beautifully. It’s nice when those things work (bowling changes), sometimes they don’t. It was nice to get a win on the board. We had a lot better energy and presence on the field today. We lacked that in the previous game so nice to turn it around tonight. We’ve got some great characters and some really good players, so hopefully this is the start of a run for us.

Ben Stokes is Man of the Match for his four wickets haul.

Stokes: We went into our bowling innings with an understanding of what to do. Everyone executed their plans well. We stayed away from full deliveries, tried to take the pace off and tried to keep it on a good length. I thought we were struggling a bit (while batting). The thought was that if we bowl well and executed our plans, we might have a chance. Hopefully this is the starting point for us to get a winning streak going. We’ve got some quality bowlers. Wherever we go, with Dhoni in our team, it feels like a home game. It’s a special place to come and play, the atmosphere is always really loud.

Virat Kohli: Not an easy thing to find momentum. We don’t deserve to win if we play like this. Honestly, last match we fought really hard, today we let the game drift away right in front of our eyes. If we lose without intent, it’s not a nice feeling. We have a few things to address. You can’t just come out here thinking we’re gonna play at home and sweep sides away. We need to play good consistent cricket. Pune was the better team and they won. One of the best (catches) I have ever taken. Reflects on all the training drills. That was one of the very few positives that we can take out of this game. He (Milne) bowled really well, assessed the conditions really nicely and stepped up. He took the opportunity with both hands. Guys coming in have to learn from that. We can’t play with fear of failure. We can’t bowl thinking what if we leak runs, what if is a massive mistake in sport, especially cricket. We have to be more expressive. Last year, we had to win four out of four and we qualified. It’s not going to happen every year, so we need to pull our socks up. If you play with intent and get out or get hit for runs, it’s fine. You can’t be switched off and let the game drift away. As professional cricketers, playing for a franchise and you’re playing in front of so many people, and people expect you to do well. So, you got to be at the top of your game and we certainly weren’t today. We didn’t deserve to win. They (fans) have always backed us throughout. Last year we needed their support and they were out here in huge numbers to do that. Once we get things turning around for us, hopefully we can come back and dominate at home. We as players need to take more responsibility so that we can give the fans something to cheer about.