New South Wales captain Simon Katich on Friday if not for Royal Challengers Bangalore batsmen Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle, his side could have won the first Champions League Twenty20 semi-final.
Chasing an imposing 203 for two, Gayle struck an whirlwind 92, while Kolhli played a match-winning unbeaten 84-run knock to power RCB to a six-wicket win over NSW.
"Virat was brilliant, Gayle was awesome. We tried different lengths, different paces, it was a big learning experience for the young bowlers, probably a couple of dropped catches cost us today. Earlier on the ball was holding up a bit," a disappointed Katich said after crashing out of the tournament.
His counterpart Daniel Vettori was of the view that 200 could be chased down on the belter Chiinaswamy stadium wicket.
"Its tough for the bowlers but it must be amazing to watch. Two hundred is a par score here. It was tough to be belted over the park but we managed to get home tonight. He also lauded Gayle and Kohli for their stupendous efforts.
"They (Gayle and Kohli) are confident enough to back their games but you have still to play exceptionally well. It is pure batsmanship and its enthralling to watch. Some of the bowlers will look forward to not playing here," Vettori said.
Man-of-the-match Kohli said he was contend to play the waiting game as long as Gayle was at the crease and did not go for big hits from the word go.
"I said it happens once in a while, but we have done it again. I went in with a mindset to play myself in, I was not desperate to score but I got the right cricket shots," he said.
"Chris (Gayle) has the ability to give a 25-run over. The other day I made a mistake trying to go for a six off the strike bowler (Shaun Tait). This time I decided to play two dot balls. That (game against South Australia) will still be the best, this can be second-best I think," he added.
