Dwayne Bravo, the Mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders, said that the batters failed to read the conditions well and apply themselves better after the loss against Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens on Monday. Chasing 199 for a win, KKR were restricted to 159 for 8 in 20 overs as well.
“I think the bowlers, first of all, did a fantastic job restricting them under 200,” Bravo said following the loss. “Shubhman Gill and Sai batted very well, but credit to our bowling group, they really brought it back and gave us a chance at the halfway stage. I think we were the happier team. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the start we wanted in the powerplay. And then, they slowed us down through the middle and obviously we faulted in the end.”
However, KKR struggled to score in the powerplay, where they scored only 45 runs and lost both their openers as well. While Gujarat Titans too had a similar score at that stage of their innings, they had both their openers still in the middle as well. However, unlike Titans, who managed to pick up soon after, KKR failed to do that. In the four overs after the powerplay, Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer managed to score only 23 runs as well. While Rahane hit a few boundaries, Iyer struggled to score. Meanwhile, Russell could manage a 15-ball 21.
ALSO READ: “Aap Lucknow ke naye nawab hain” – Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant’s appointment as LSG captain
“Russell is an experienced player. He’s a successful player. Just a couple of games the leg spinners have got him out. But I don’t think we actually had the team batting properly. So that is the reality. Russell is not the only one who is struggling at the moment. But as a group, we have to make sure that the players keep putting in their work and practise, keep preparing well, try to keep them mentally focused. IPL is a tough tournament. And when you don’t start well, batsmen go into a period where they lose confidence. And that’s what’s happening at the moment. We just have to keep backing them and hopefully they come good,” Dwayne Bravo shared.
He also stated that if the top order bats well, it will help the finishers to play their role better as well. Bravo also said that after a string of underwhelming performances, the KKR batters are low on confidence as well. However, he also didn’t want to blame pitch as the reason for the loss.
ALSO READ: “In the next T20 World Cup in India, he’ll be number one bowler” – Mohammad Kaif on Varun Chakravarthy
“Not every team has leg spinners. And then today, obviously, Rashid Khan, one of the quality players. But, you know, when Russell walks into bat every time, the run rate is at 14-15. So the work needs to be done on top so that we give him a chance to finish off games like he accustomed to doing over the years for KKR. So, yeah, he has leg spinners getting him out a few times. But I don’t think that is a big concern. I just figured that, we need to bat better to allow our finishers to finish cricket games,” Dwayne Bravo further added.
“Nothing is wrong with the wicket. I wouldn’t come here to talk about the wicket. I think both teams play on the wicket and, you know, we didn’t play a good game of cricket. So definitely if we don’t play in the three facets of the game, good, and the other team play better, more likely they will win. So I’m not having anything, nothing is wrong with the wicket. So I just felt that they play better than us. They win key moments and their batsmen bat in the, the guys who bat in the first three, you know, they both score half centuries. So I think that was the difference,” Dwayne Bravo concluded.
