Virat Kohli: ‘Didn’t feel like the same pressure as last year’

“I said to a few other boys that it doesn’t feel like the same pressure as last year. We knew what kind of ability we have in the group. We topped the table. There’s a reason why we got here first and we just said one thing: if we stick to our cricket, if we execute our plans, we are the best team in the comp, and there’s a reason why we have done well so far in the group stage. We ended up topping the league stage. And yeah, just the skill sets we have, the maturity, the composure of the guys just shown through again tonight, and it was a clinical performance.

“Well, to be fair, after the break, we had one loss. And then we had a close win against MI. I’d say that week for us was a bit tricky because we wanted to finish at the top. But as soon as we got that win against MI, the belief came back in, then we had a comprehensive win against KKR, and then yeah, just ended up topping the table and just on our way to the finals.

“It’s been amazing. I mean, we had to wait for so long and then you know… just to have a group of guys where you feel like when you are stepping on to the ground, you don’t need to be the one to step up every time. There is a guy behind you, around you, who can win games of cricket for you. We have so many Man-of-the-Match awards spread throughout the group as well.

“I mean, you look at world-class bowling, like Hoff [Josh Hazlewood], Bhuv [Bhuvneshwar Kumar], Duff [Jacob Duffy], I mean, Krunal Pandya, you can bank on him as good as ever. Rasik Dar was brilliant this season. And all the batsmen chipped in as well. I feel so happy to be playing in a group where we have balance, we have strength and we are an all-round strong team. That’s why we have the confidence we have on the field right now.”

Josh Hazlewood: ‘Three-peat, yeah, I can’t see why not’

“That’s right up there. I think obviously a little bit more relaxed within the group this year. Sort of got the monkey off the back last year in terms of a long wait for that first win, but I think the group just felt calm and composed throughout the whole tournament, really. Someone stepped up when they needed to be. We had again like ten Man of the Matches, so amazing depth in the squad. Anyone who came in did a great job, and the bowling – Bhuvi is pretty special.

“I can’t remember a game where he went for over 35 runs. In this day and age, it’s unbelievable. He got wickets up front nearly every game he played. It just took the heat off. The rest of us, we could relax, and we were bowling at Nos. 4 and 5 in the powerplay. So it’s pretty nice.

“I think the franchise has been put together beautifully. Not just the players, but I think the support staff, again, it’s a nice relaxed atmosphere to try to play your best cricket and perform. I think it’s hard to build that culture so quickly when the team changes quite a bit every three years, but it feels like we’ve got that now. Obviously winning helps, but it just feels like the team’s quite a tight unit and we’re playing for someone else other than ourselves sort of all the time. Three-peat, yeah, I can’t see why not.”

Krunal Pandya: ‘Every IPL trophy is special’

“There’s no doubt about it, every IPL trophy is special. It’s like having kids, you can’t pick [one], it’s similar with IPL trophies because everything is so hard-earned. I’m grateful that in 11 years, to have five trophies, it’s been special for me. A lot of credit goes to the support staff – Mo Babat, Andy Flower, Dinesh Karthik, Malolan [Rangarajan] – the way they prepared for the auction also last year and the way they set the team, the balance of it. So, again sometimes you win half the battle in the auction and they did a pretty good job. Then eventually it was on us to go out and deliver. And glad that we were able to have the hold on the trophy back-to-back. All this wait of 18 years and then winning back-to-back trophies, this is for the RCB fans – wherever we have gone, they have supported us. And obviously for Virat as well, pretty special, right after the 18th and 19th season, having two trophies. It’s amazing.”

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: ‘We all had each other’s back’

“The trophy is the most important thing for us – I’d trade any day for that. But yes, individually, the season went well for me. There was planning, there were a lot of things before the season and it went well.

“If you take wickets, the confidence is always up, and I think coming to the big game like that, if you have performed well in the past, it always helps. But credit goes to each and every one. We all had each other’s back, and that’s what you need in a big game like that.”

Jitesh Sharma: ‘We are not defending. We are attacking this trophy’

“I am feeling very happy. I have won for the second time. And speaking in Marathi here in IPL, I feel very good. As Mo had said earlier, we are not defending… We are attacking this trophy. We are chasing something. Because of that, our mindset changed. We are trying to dominate more. We are not defensive. We are thinking of defending our trophy like that.

“So this atmosphere must have been very beautiful. I think credit goes to the management. The way they have nourished us, given us surroundings. Like I am… 32 years old. But the way DK [Dinesh Karthik] anna has taken care of me, Mo, when I was not performing. I think it gives you an identity that there are good people in this team. You are not a big player. If you are a good human, you can give something to the team. They will give you value.

“We also know that we are a very strong team. But we were focusing more on one game at a time. One game at a time, it’s tactics, how to execute it. Just one match at a time… we kept focusing. We never thought about how good we were playing. We kept our focus on ourselves and our tactics.”

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