KKR was eliminated from the IPL 2022 playoffs race after losing to LSG by 2 runs.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Shreyas Iyer said that he isn’t sad at all despite his team’s 2-run loss to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a thrilling IPL 2022 match on Wednesday (May 18).
With the defeat, KKR crashed out of the IPL 2022 playoffs race, while LSG made it to the top four of the ongoing tournament. Earlier, the Gujarat Titans (GT) qualified for the IPL 2022 playoffs.
Well, batting first, LSG posted 210/0 on the board against KKR, riding on the record-opening partnership between Quinton de Kock (140*) and KL Rahul (68*).
Chasing the total, KKR showed great fight and even came close to the target, but luck was on LSG's side and Iyer has termed the enthralling contest as one of the best games of his career.
Shreyas Iyer said after the match: “I am not feeling sad at all. That was one of the best games of cricket I have played. The way we should our character and attitude were simply outstanding.”
Praising Rinku Singh for his attacking knock of 40 runs off 15 balls, the KKR skipper noted: “I love the way Rinku got us till the end but unfortunately couldn't time it when two balls were remaining, he was really sad. I was hoping he could finish the game for us and could have been the hero, but still played a fantastic knock and I am really happy for him.”
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He continued, “It was a do-or-die situation for us, even after losing two wickets in the powerplay our mindset was to go for the chase and take it to close as possible and put them under pressure.”
Reflecting back on KKR’s performance this season, Iyer noted: “It was a volatile season for us, we started great but lost five games in a row and I personally feel we did a lot of chopping and changing, we had to do that because of the niggles and form, but we also got to know the players such as Rinku.”
He signed off by saying, “The vibe has always been positive in the dressing room and we never hit the panic button. I have built a really good relationship with Baz (McCullum) and he is someone who is calm and composed even when the situation is going out of the way, you can go and talk to him at any point of the game. He's got that aura when he walks around the players and never judges the players, all of us are equal for him.”
(With Firstsport Inputs)