Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 8 (ANI): Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat and Tim David praised the character shown by Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) middle order after the side narrowly fell to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by nine runs (DLS Method) in an away fixture on Thursday, marking RCB's first defeat while chasing in five games.

Rajat Patidar led from the front with a scintillating 61 off just 31 balls, smashing six sixes during his innings and continuing his impressive season as the fourth-highest six-hitter in the tournament, according to a release.

Reflecting on the chase, David, who himself scored 40 runs in 17 balls, praised Rajat's composure and power-hitting.

'Rajat was amazing. They were big sixes. They were bowling fast, they were bowling short, and he absorbed a bit of pressure at the start, and then he just played how we know he can play.'

'It was beautiful to watch. They got me out of my seat. Those sixes are pretty special,' he added.

Bobat echoed those sentiments and highlighted the character shown by the middle order after the early setbacks.

'Obviously disappointing to not be able to pick up the two points. But it was encouraging to see some really brave performances from some of the boys today,' Bobat said.

'It's not often that we lose both our openers as early as we did today. Our top order has been fantastic all season, so that was a bit of a rarity. But the characters Dev and Rajat showed were fantastic. They absorbed pressure for a period of time and then actually put some pressure back on them,' he added.

Bobat also credited the bowling unit, particularly Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who played his 200th game in the IPL and Krunal Pandya, for their efforts during the first innings.

'Some brave batting there, particularly from the middle order, which will be encouraging. We must also remember that Bhuvi and KP bowled brilliantly as well,' he said.

With a quick turnaround ahead of their next fixture against the Mumbai Indians, Bobat said the group would quickly regroup and focus on sharpening key areas.

'As we always do, we'll give ourselves a bit of time to think. The boys and coaches will get their heads together, look at the areas we could have done a little bit better, and hopefully be a little bit sharper for the next game,' he signed off. (ANI)