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'We got the team that we wanted', says Kohli after RCB victory

After shepherding Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a comfortable win over Punjab Kings, Virat Kohli praised the squad the team has built.

Following Royal Challengers Bengaluru's seven-wicket win over Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League on Sunday, Virat Kohli expressed pleasure at the squad his side have built.

After a stellar bowling effort reduced Punjab Kings to a modest 157-6, RCB's batters – namely Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal – got the job done in good time at New Chandigarh, ending with seven balls to spare.

The former India and RCB captain notched up his record 67th IPL fifty, ending on 73 not out, as he and Padikkal (61) stitched together a crucial 103-run partnership to guide RCB to their fifth win of the season.

All five of RCB's wins, though, have come away from home with the Challengers yet to win a match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium this season. They lost the reverse fixture against Punjab at home in a rain-shortened match last Friday but got over the line comfortably this time around.

Reflecting on the result and his role in the chase, Kohli credited Padikkal's intent and spoke about adapting based on the match situation.

"There have been occasions where I felt like I wanted to accelerate more and more," he said.

"But I think it was understanding that if Salty [Phil Salt] doesn't get off to a start, my role then becomes to let the others around me play the way they do.

"I utilised my experience, yes, to finish the game, but Dev could play like that around me, maybe Rajat [Patidar] can play like that around me. So I try to stay in there long enough for the others to know that I'm holding one end and, if need be, I can accelerate."

Kohli also acknowledged RCB's poor home form, attributing it to misleading conditions at the Chinnaswamy, where they've lost all three of their matches this season.

"Look, there's always a temptation to keep going the same way. I think you need to understand the conditions which we honestly haven't done back home.

"So, the first two games [in Bengaluru] we had the learnings, the last game was a shortened game, so we had to go hard again.

"But I think when you come to a new place like in Rajasthan, we had to analyse the pitch, go and have a look at the conditions and then try to build up a good partnership."

Indeed, RCB did just that in their visit to Jaipur last weekend, where they cruised to a dominating nine-wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals.

Kohli also spoke glowingly about the balance of the squad, which includes international stars like Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Tim David and Romario Shepherd, alongside Indian talents such as captain Rajat Patidar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jitesh Sharma, and Padikkal.

"We got the team that we wanted," he said. "I think on day one [of the IPL auction] everyone was panicking, but [the RCB team management] were very composed.

"They knew exactly who they wanted. And if you look at guys like Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Rajat obviously playing the way he does, Livingstone coming in, Salty playing the way he is, it looks good.

"Dev [Padikkal] is playing this amazing role for us at number three. It's coming together nicely and now with the addition of Romario [Shepherd], it gives us even more firepower at the back.

"You have two guys who can hit 10 sixes in 18 balls. So that was missing in all the other seasons. If you look at the top order in the last few seasons, we had to do bulk of the scoring.

"But this time around, it feels like even if someone gets out, like in Chennai, guys can still keep carrying on with that momentum and keep counterattacking, like in Mumbai as well.

"It feels very balanced. The guys are very hungry to perform for the team."

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