Needed to strengthen middle order in coming IPL seasons: Kohli
Jaipur, May 19 : A dejected Virat Kohli vowed to come back with a stronger middle order in the next Indian Premier League (IPL) season after his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) was shown the door from the ongoing edition with a 30-run loss to Rajasthan Royals here on Saturday.
Bangalore's 12 points from 14 games wasn't enough to propel them to the next stage of the league as the Kohli-led side fell like a pack of cards while chasing a modest 165-run target handed by Rajasthan.
At one stage, Bangalore were looking comfortable at 74/1 but later went on to lose their remaining nine wickets for just 59 runs, thanks to Shreyas Gopal, who shattered the visitor's top and middle order with impressive figures of 4/16.
In the post-match presentation, Kohli emphasised on the need to strengthen the middle order that failed to contribute on most of the occasions this season.
"We wanted to strengthen the middle-order which hasn't happened, it hasn't been our strength and we need to do that going into the next few seasons," Kohli said.
"We need to be smarter with composing our team. The responsibility cannot be taken up only by AB all the time. He certainly scored runs, but others need to contribute around him," the 29-year-old added.
However, the Bangalore skipper praised some of his players saying: "There were some new players who did well. Umesh bowled extremely well with the new ball, Chahal was great, Siraj and Moeen contributed too, so plenty of positives to take into the next season."
On the other hand, RR skipper Ajinkya Rahane credited his bowlers for the win which kept them alive in the league.
Despite the win lifting Rajasthan to the fourth spot, Rahane and company will have to wait till the outcome of the remaining three games of the league stage.
"Though RCB had a very good batting line up, credit goes to our bowlers. Under pressure, the two leggies did really well. Getting wickets in the middle overs was never easy," Rahane said after the match.
"This evening was very special. It was more about focussing on the things that we could control. Klaasen's innings was really good and Rahul's innings at the top was magnificent. It is important to enjoy this win and stay calm," he concluded.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
