Virat Kohli continued to lead the Royal Challengers Bangalore during their home match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the M Chinnswamy Stadium on Wednesday. However, it wasn’t the result that the stand-in skipper would have wanted as Bangalore succumbed to a 21-run defeat. Even though Kohli was confident of his team’s chasing ability and said that it was a “no-brainer” that they wanted to bowl first as it was an evening game at this venue, first they conceded 200 runs before falling way short of their target.

After the match, captain Kohli, stepping in for an injured Faf du Plessis who was used only as an Impact Player, minced no words in criticism of his side. The right-handed batter was pretty much a lone warrior for his team as he scored 54 off 37 balls but once he got out, the Bangalore side were always behind in the game.

“To be honest we handed over the game to them. We deserved to lose. We weren’t professional enough. We bowled well but fielding was not up to standard. This was a freebie handed over to them,” Kohli said while talking to the broadcasters after the match.

“In the field, there was a period of 4-5 overs where we dropped chances, that cost us 25-30 runs. When batting, we set us ourselves up very well, but then there were four to five soft dismissals. Not wicket-taking balls but we hit them straight to the fielders. Even while chasing, after losing wickets, one partnership brought us back in the game. We were one partnership short. We need to stay switched on, and not give away soft plays,” he added.

Bangalore will now play five away games on the trot before a home match against the Gujarat Titans on May 21.

“We have won one and lost one on the road. It is not something that is making us nervous. We need to win some away games to be in good shape for the later stages of the tournament.”