Kohli explains RCB's success - 'We got the team that we wanted'

"I thought this award, as much as... I mean, I don't know why I've been given this to be honest."

That was Virat Kohli after his unbeaten 73 off 54 - his record 67th IPL fifty - powered RCB to a fifth straight away win in New Chandigarh, just 36 hours after a third consecutive home loss to the same Punjab Kings.

Kohli said he'd have given the award to "Dev" - Devdutt Padikkal - who, after two quiet seasons with Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants, has found form and stability at No. 3 since returning to RCB.

After Phil Salt fell in the first over of RCB's 158 chase, Kohli and Padikkal steered them towards victory with a 103-run stand. Padikkal, the aggressor, smashed 61 off 35 - his first fifty of the season - building on from his intent-laden knocks like 37 vs Mumbai Indians and 27 vs Chennai Super Kings, where he eased pressure on Kohli after Salt's dismissals.

"There have been occasions where I felt like I wanted to accelerate more and more," Kohli said while crediting Padikkal for his aggression. "But I think it was understanding that if Salty doesn't get off to a start, my role then becomes to let the others around me to play the way they do.

"I utilised my experience, yes, to finish the game, but Dev could play like that around me, maybe Rajat [Patidar] can play like that around me. So I try to stay in there long enough for the others to know that I'm holding one end and if need be, I can accelerate."

On Sunday afternoon, RCB cruised home with seven balls to spare; it seemed at different times that they could've finished the game earlier. Kohli explained the surface and conditions dictated their slightly tempered approach.

"Look, there's always a temptation to keep going the same way," he said. "I think you need to understand the conditions which we honestly haven't done back home. So, the first two games [in Bengaluru] we had the learnings, last game was a shortened game, so we had to go hard again. But I think when you come to a new place like in Rajasthan, we had to analyse the pitch, go and have a look at the conditions and then try to build up a good partnership.

"In a good run-chase in T20 cricket, one partnership is good enough mostly. I try to use my experience in those situations to stay there long enough to string those partnerships and if need be, I can accelerate. But for me, it's understanding the strengths of the other players around me as well and allowing them to take the game away from the opposition, knowing that I'm still holding one end, which seems to be working for us."

The win puts RCB in third place, as they join four other teams on 10 points - eliciting talks of "IPL being special for No. 18 [Kohli's jersey number]. Asked whether it feels different this year as compared to earlier, Kohli underlined a "very good auction" and lower-order batting depth have been helping the side do better.

"We got the team that we wanted," he said. "I think on day one everyone was panicking, but these guys [team management] were very composed. They knew exactly who they wanted. And if you look at guys like Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Rajat obviously playing the way he does, [Liam] Livingstone coming in, Salty playing the way he is. Dev playing this amazing role for us at No. 3.

"It's coming together nicely and now with the addition of Romario [Shepherd], it gives us even more firepower at the back. You have two guys who can hit 10 sixes in 18 balls. So that was missing in all the other seasons.

"If you look at the top order in the last few seasons, we had to do bulk of the scoring. But this time around, it feels like even if someone gets out, like in Chennai, guys can still keep carrying on with that momentum and keep counterattacking, like in Mumbai as well.

"It feels very balanced. The guys are very hungry to perform for the team. You can see that intensity in the field. You can see that feistiness as well, just in the body language, just the way they throw themselves around on the field."

Two of RCB's next three games are at home, where they're yet to win. They play Rajasthan Royals next on April 24.