After Monday’s defeat to Gujarat Titans at Eden Gardens, Dwayne Bravo, the mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders, acknowledged that the batters did not properly evaluate the conditions and did not put in more effort. KKR was held to 159 for 8 while chasing 199 for victory.
“I think the bowlers, first of all, did a fantastic job restricting them under 200,” Bravo said after the defeat. “Although Shubhman Gill and Sai batted brilliantly, we deserve praise for our bowling group because they really rallied and gave us a chance at the halfway point. We were, I believe, the more contented squad.
Regretfully, we were unable to acquire the desired powerplay start. We clearly made a mistake at the end when they slowed us down in the middle.
The Kolkata Knight Riders lost both of their openers and struggled to get going in the powerplay, scoring just 45 runs. At same point in their innings, the Gujarat Titans also had a comparable score, but both of their openers were still in the middle. But KKR was kept in check, in contrast to Titans, who were able to increase their scoring rate as the innings progressed. Only 23 runs were scored by Ajnkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer in the four overs that followed the powerplay.
Even though Rahane struck a few of boundaries, Iyer was still having trouble, and by the middle of the 13th over, both batsmen were removed quickly, leaving KKR struggling at 91 for 4.
With Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, and Impact Substitute Angkrish Raghuvanshi to follow, the task was too difficult even if the hosts had enough of firepower in the end. Russell’s barrage of sixes gave some hope for a little while, but R Sai Kishore and Prasidh Krishna quickly took control of him. He was defeated by Rashid Khan once more.
Russell was dismissed by a legspinner once more, and his 15-ball 21 that evening was his highest score of the season, a year in which KKR hasn’t benefited much from his destructive abilities. Bravo, however, dimmed worries about his performance against legspin and kept supporting the West Indian.
Russell is a skilled athlete. He is an accomplished athlete. He has been removed by the leg spinners in just a few games. However, I don’t believe the squad was batting well. That’s the truth, then. It’s not just Russell who is having difficulties right now. However, as a team, we must ensure that the players continue to practice, put in the necessary effort, prepare thoroughly, and maintain mental focus.
The IPL is a challenging competition. Additionally, batters experience a time of diminished confidence when they don’t start well. And that’s what’s going on right now. All we need to do is continue to support them, and hopefully they succeed.
He maintained that the finishers will be able to perform their roles more effectively if the top order bats well. Bravo acknowledged that the KKR hitters are going through a phase of low confidence after a run of disappointing outings.
Leg spinners are not a feature of every squad. And Rashid Khan, one of the top players, today, of course. However, the run rate is between 14 and 15 every time Russell takes the batting position. In order to provide him the opportunity to complete games like he has done for KKR throughout the years, the job must be done on top. He does, in fact, have leg spinners that help him get out occasionally. However, I don’t believe that is a major issue. I simply reasoned that in order for our finishers to complete cricket matches, we must improve our batting.
Despite all the pleas for spinner-friendly wickets in Kolkata, the team batting first once again scored more than 190. Bravo, however, was unwilling to consider pitch as the cause of the defeat.
“Nothing is wrong with the wicket,” he stated. “Talking about the wicket is not why I came here. We didn’t play a decent game of cricket, and I believe that both teams play on the wicket. Therefore, if we don’t play in the three aspects of the game, the other team will most likely win if they play better. There is nothing wrong with the wicket, so I’m not having any problems.
I simply thought they played better than us. Both of their batsmen achieve half-centuries when they bat in the first three, and they win crucial moments. Thus, I believe that was the distinction.
