IPL 2024: Shikhar Dhawan Reflects On Dropped Catches: 'We Paid the Price For Dropping Virat Kohli'

Virat Kohli earned the player-of-the-match accolade for his exceptional knock of 77 runs, steering Royal Challengers Bangalore to a four-wicket victory over Punjab Kings, marking their inaugural win of IPL 2024 . Nonetheless, had PBKS fielders not grassed a couple of opportunities, Kohli's innings could have abruptly ended without a single run.

Assuming the helm of RCB 's chase of 177 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Kohli was granted a reprieve when he was yet to open his account. A mistimed drive away from his body, with his feet anchored to the crease, resulted in an edge, but Jonny Bairstow spilled a straightforward chance in the slip cordon, allowing the ball to scuttle away for four runs.

Kohli unleashed a flurry of boundaries, striking four fours off Sam Curran 's over, propelling RCB to a blazing start.

His next escape came when Kohli reached 33. However, this time, it wasn't a routine catch, as fielder Rahul Chahar lunged to his left for a challenging one-handed grab, only for the ball to evade his grasp. Once again, the drop occurred off Curran's bowling.

RCB eventually reached the target with four deliveries to spare.

PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan believed his team fell short by 10-15 runs, a deficit that could have made the total more defendable, lamenting the missed chances that proved costly.

“Good game, we brought it back. I think we were 10-15 runs less. Should have encashed in the first six overs. We had to pay the price for dropping Kohli. We lost momentum there, it was crucial,” Dhawan expressed during the post-match presentation.

To PBKS' credit, they didn't allow RCB to coast towards victory, extending the contest into the final over, only for Dinesh Karthik to seal the deal with a flurry of boundaries.

“Match went till last over, at the end we could have bowled better. Harpreet (Brar) is bowling really well, that too to left-handers on a small ground. He soaked in pressure and got breakthroughs,” Dhawan remarked.

Although Dhawan emerged as PBKS's top-scorer, he acknowledged that his strike-rate, particularly in the Powerplay, could have been higher.

“I was happy with my runs but think could’ve played faster in the first six. We lost two wickets which put pressure too. That total we thought was par,” he reflected.