'What you saw in the second innings wasn't a true representation of how the pitch was.'
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli says his team "wasn't expressive enough" during the IPL match against Chennai Super Kings, in Dubai on Sunday, but accepted that in a marathon league there will be a defeat "here and there".
Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers by eight wickets, but Kohli's men are well and truly on their way to the play-offs with 14 points from 11 games and need only one victory to officially clinch a berth.
"140-plus is a competitive total on that pitch; we were targeting 150. I thought we still could have bowled change of pace and the odd bouncer. We weren't expressive enough. We let batsmen dictate stuff," Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
Kohli said that CSK's smooth run-chase wasn't a true reflection of the tricky track that was on offer where his team could muster only 145 for 6.
"What you saw in the second innings wasn't a true representation of how the pitch was. They bowled stump to stump. I don't think we got a ball to drive when we batted. Their spinners kept it tight too."
According to the India captain, it's all about preparedness on a given day.
"You have to be prepared on a given day to do well. All sides have good players, it's about how you come out onto the park on that particular day.
"We are playing really good cricket and you have to accept you will lose games here and there."