Virat Kohli hopes Royal Challengers Bangalore ‘come back stronger’ after their wait for a first Indian Premier League title continued.
Bangalore lost to IPL group winners Gujarat Titans in their final match to finish sixth in the table and narrowly miss out on the play-offs.
RCB failed to qualify for the knockout stages despite Kohli making centuries in the last two matches and the India superstar admitted he was ‘disappointed’ that the side ‘fell short of our goal’.
‘A season which had it’s moments but unfortunately we fell short of the goal,’ Kohli said after the IPL play-offs were confirmed ‘We’re disappointed but we must hold our heads high.
‘To our loyal supporters, grateful for backing us every step of the way. A big thank you to the coaches, management and my teammates. We aim to be back stronger.’
Royal Challengers Bangalore are one of only two established IPL teams to never have won the competition, having lost finals in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
Defending champions Gujarat Titans won 10 of their 14 group games to finish top of the IPL table. As a result, they have two chances of reaching the final, starting with the first play-off game against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday.
The loser of that match will then play either Lucknow Super Giants or Mumbai Indians – who play tomorrow – on Friday for a place in Sunday’s IPL final.
Mumbai Indians finished fourth in the IPL group stage and qualified for the play-offs despite losing England fast bowler Jofra Archer to injury.
Archer was forced to return home earlier in the month and scans have shown a recurrence of the stress fracture in his right elbow, ruling him out of the entire summer.
Reacting to Archer’s latest injury setback, England legend Kevin Pietersen told Betway: ‘I’m gutted for Jofra. Absolutely gutted. I think this will probably end his journey with English cricket.
‘I know that there are reports around a franchise contract, and that would be the smartest thing for him to do now.
‘Take six months to recover, select a few tournaments to play, and bowl at the speed of light for a few months of the year. He would earn good money and still have a career in the game.
‘I think the longer form of the game has passed him by. I think English cricket has probably passed him by. It’s no fault of his own, he’s just injury prone.
‘As much as he would love to play for England, because I know that’s his dream, it’s probably finished.
‘He should now just go and cash in as much as he can in franchise cricket. But first of all, get himself fit.’
MORE : County cricket: Surrey extend lead and Australia’s Ashes stars go big
MORE : Master craftsman Ben Foakes is a luckless victim of the all-out attack era
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Cricket News Click Here
