“We view every game as a semifinal right now,” RCB head coach Flower said

Following his team’s sixth loss in seven games in the current Indian Premier League, head coach Andy Flower of Royal Challengers Bengaluru acknowledged that their next seven games would need to be seen as semifinals.

After a run-scoring record, RCB lost by 25 runs to the Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Monday, which was the latest blow to their hopes of making the playoffs.

“Obviously, we are in the elimination round, and every game is now like the semifinals for us. However, we must believe that we will return stronger,” Flower said during the RCB Game Day broadcast.

When the Hyderabad hitters went on a wild ride against their aimless bowlers, RCB gave up the highest-ever IPL total (287 for three).

Flower acknowledged that his team had a difficult evening. “Obviously, it was an extremely difficult night in the field, as their thrilling finish likely depleted our spirits,” he said.

During RCB’s chase, Flower did discover some encouraging moments, however, including Dinesh Karthik’s incredible 83 off 35 balls and captain Faf Du Plessis’s 28-ball 62.

In the next games, the Zimbabwean intended to improve on them. “I am quite pleased with how we battled there in the middle with the bat. “I was really proud of the way we fought, even though we lost the game,” Flower said.

Karthik’s performance against the SRH spinners was praised by the former England coach, who also said that it would not be shocking if the wicketkeeper-batter was included in India’s T20 World Cup side. “Dinesh Karthik is really improving on the field and is pushing hard for the World Cup team [India] as well,” he said.