IPL 2021: Virat Kohli 'feels amazing', says playoff qualification should give RCB motivation to play fearlessly

An elated Virat Kohli said that he"feels amazing" after his side, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Punjab Kings by six runs in a thrilling clash on Sunday (October 3) to secure their place in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League's playoffs.

Australian batter Glenn Maxwell's stunning 57 off 33 balls and Devdutt Padikkal's 40 helped Bangalore to put up 164 for seven from their 20 overs in Sharjah. Despite, Mayank Agarwal (57) and captain KL Rahul (39) efforts, Punjab fell short and failed to reach the target.

Virat Kohli in the post-match presentation said, "After 2011, we haven't done it with games to spare. Eight wins out of 12 games is a great campaign. We have two more opportunities to finish in the top two. Should give us the motivation to play even more fearlessly."

"The first huddle for any team is qualification. We still have areas to improve so that we work on those areas and get into the top 2. It wasn't an easy wicket," he added.

Praising the team, Virat said, "An IPL campaign is as good as the team plays the way they do. If the players don't step up, the campaign can move away quickly. This year the guys have taken the ownership and responsibility."

During the match, Punjab were off to a brilliant start as the opening pair put on 91 for the first wicket and Punjab seemed on target for an upset win. But spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three key wickets — Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran and Sarfaraz Khan, for a golden duck — at a cost of just 29 runs to give Bangalore the advantage.

Punjab needed 27 off the last two overs but bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel kept big hitter Moises Henriques in check as they gave away just 20.