‘We were not quite good enough in the key moments’ – Mike Hesson after RCB’s four-run loss to SRH

Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Mike Hesson reckoned that RCB weren’t up to the mark in their previous encounter against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday, October 6 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. After restricting the Orange Army to 141 for seven, Virat Kohli and Co. failed to chase down the target, losing by four runs.

The loss also hurt RCB’s chances of finishing in the top two, though they still have a mathematical chance of toppling Chennai Super Kings to second. For the time being, the Challengers are placed at third with 16 points from 13 games and a net run rate of -0.159.

Hesson was clear cut in saying that RCB flattered to deceive in the crunch moments of their match against the Sunrisers. “We were not quite good enough in the key moments to get over the line,” Hesson was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference.

Glenn Maxwell’s wicket turned the game, feels Mike Hesson

In the run-chase, Maxwell looked the most fluent among the RCB batters. The Victorian scored 40 off 25 with three fours and two sixes, looking set to take the Challengers home. However, SRH skipper Kane Williamson threw down the stumps at the striker’s end to cut short his stay. Hesson admitted that Maxwell’s dismissal turned the match on its head.

“The fact that Glenn Maxwell was scoring more than 10 runs per over, he was perhaps the only batter to have fluency on this surface and he was set. He was the man we wanted at the crease, look it probably was the turning point. It probably did turn the game and we left a little too much for us to do in the end,” he stated.

Hesson also said that he asked opener Devdutt Padikkal to play some shots and take the initiative after the 15th over when the required rate was hovering around nine. Padikkal didn’t have a great day as he managed a 52-ball 41 before Rashid Khan dismissed him.

“He played that role very nicely. But as we saw, it got harder to score and time. There were a few dot balls built up and in the second time-out, around the 15th over, we told Devdutt to take the initiative and take the pressure off the other new batters,” Hesson added.