Dismissal of Kohli, de Villiers was turning point: Iqbal Abdulla

Royal Challengers Bangalore off-spinner Iqbal Abdulla believes that the dismissal of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers was the turning point in their encounter against the Mumbai Indians. The RCB duo fell in the same over as they both were dismissed by the wily left-arm spinner, Krunal Pandya. Batting first, Bangalore managed 170/7 in 20 overs. Travis Head (37) was the top scorer for the side.

The chase began with Rohit Sharma once again playing a pivotal role in proceeding with a wonderfully compiled half-century. Kieron Pillard finally found some form with the bat as he smashed a whirlwind and unbeaten 40 off just 19 deliveries.

“Yes, it was the turning point in the match. If your best batsmen get out, who is delivering well and scoring heavy runs, the effect is bound to be a fall in the performance of the team,” Abdulla said at the post-match press conference at the Wankhede stadium here on Wednesday when asked if the RCB duo getting out was the turning point.

The Royal Challengers made six changes to their side following the departure of Chris Gayle to Jamaica for the birth of his daughter.

“We have played just three games; so maybe something is going on in the mind of the skipper. It’s giving an opportunity to top players like I got today to perform. So, it depends on the skipper why changes were made,” said Abdulla (3/40), who was the pick of the bowlers for his side.

The left-arm spinner thanked the team’s head coach and off-spin legend Daniel Vettori for constant support and valuable tips.

“I have been playing for eight to nine years; keeping one strong and self-belief is very important at a point of time when batsmen are going after you. You can get hit for a six, but the way how you make a comeback after that ball is very important and it matters,” Abdulla said.

“We have the best left-arm spinner in our team (referring to Vettori), so I am getting a lot of help from him. So I will learn from these sixes hit by the batsmen and eventually put the ball in the right areas later on,” he concluded.

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