Batting collapse responsible for our loss, says RCB’s Negi

Kolkata, April 24 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) spinner Pawan Negi on Monday refused to blame the pitch for their spectacular batting collapse against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and said it was a bad day at office for the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise.

"Unfortunately our batting collapsed. There was nothing to do with the wicket," Negi told reporters here.

RCB were shot out for 49 runs during their clash against KKR here on Sunday night, the lowest total in IPL history. KKR won by 89 runs.

Chasing just 132 for victory, the star-studded RCB batting unit comprising Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Kedhar Jadhav fell like nine pins as the none of their batsmen could reach double figures.

"There's nothing to do with the pitch but both the teams bowled well. We did well in both spin and pace departments. But then it's part of the game. One day you do well and on another day, nothing goes your way," Negi, who scalped two wickets in his three overs in the first innings, said.

RCB's collapse started with Kohli's dismissal off the third ball when the captain chased a wide delivery only to edge it to second slip.

Kohli, who out for a duck, was later seen complaining to the fourth umpire about some spectators' movement near the sightscreen.

"It's nothing to do with the sightscreen. But people behind the sightscreen were moving a lot, causing problems for the batsmen," Negi said.