As Kolkata Knight Riders haven’t been able to achieve a winning impetus throughout the ongoing season, they have been forced to make regular changes in their playing XI. The team’s captain Shreyas Iyer revealed it is really difficult to tell players they won’t play and also disclosed that the side’s CEO Venky Mysore is also involved in the team’s selection.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Mumbai Indians by a huge margin of 52 runs at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai on Monday. KKR posted a competitive total of 165 runs after they were put in to bat by Rohit Sharma.
Venkatesh Iyer, who was making a return to the final XI, took the attack against the opposition in the powerplay overs and scored a fine knock of 43 runs. Subsequently, Nitish Rana was able to hit the ground running and he also scored 43 runs from 26 balls. Ajinkya Rahane contributed with 25 runs while Rinku Singh remained unbeaten on 23.
On the other hand, Pat Cummins was the pick of the bowlers for KKR as he returned with impressive figures of 3-22 in his quota of four overs. Cummins got the crucial wicket of well-settled Ishan Kishan and also dismissed Murugan Ashwin and Daniel Sams.
In fact, KKR had lost their previous match against Lucknow Super Giants by a massive margin of 75 runs but Iyer feels it is good to win by a heavy margin after suffering a big loss against the KL Rahul-led team.
Shreyas Iyer said in the post-match presentation, “Very pleased because after losing the last game by a big margin, feels good to come back and win by a big margin is nice. We had a nice start in the powerplay and Venky targeted bowlers well. I personally felt that it wasn’t easy to start for a new batter. When we went in to bowl, the plan was to hit the right areas and not give room. It is really difficult (to tell players about axings). Coach and at times, the CEO is also obviously involved in team selections. Each and every player takes it well, and they have put in their best efforts. The win was comprehensive, and when I spoke to the players, they were pumped up to win the game today. I’m not satisfied (totally) but want to maintain this.”
KKR will need to win their remaining league stage to keep themselves alive in the tournament as they have a bleak chance of making it to the last four. The Shreyas Iyer-led team needs to be more consistent in their renditions in the upcoming fixtures.
KKR will next face SRH at the MCA, Pune on Saturday.
