Bengaluru, 19 April (H.S.):

Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting coach Dinesh Karthik reflected candidly on the team's narrow loss to Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, pinpointing a failure to accelerate in the final overs despite a gritty effort on a challenging pitch.

RCB posted 175/8 in 20 overs, powered by opener Phil Salt's masterful 63, but Delhi chased 179/4 with flair—KL Rahul (57) and Tristan Stubbs (60) setting the platform before David Miller's explosive 22 off 10 balls sealed victory in the last over.

Karthik praised the batting for dominating 75% of the innings on a tricky surface, yet rued the shortfall in the closing five overs. He lauded the bowling attack—Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, and Rasikh delivering tight spells, with the 19th over nearly perfect—while acknowledging Shepherd's efforts undone by Miller's brilliance.

Our fielding turned 175 into 190-equivalent, and the 12 warriors' fight embodied team spirit, Karthik affirmed, urging focus on improvement while crediting Delhi's finishers. RCB faces Gujarat Titans on April 24.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar