Rajasthan Royals' (RR) experienced middle-order player Robin Uthappa felt his team's batters, himself included, didn't give themselves crucial extra time in adjusting to the tiring Dubai surface as they collapsed to face a 37-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) this Wednesday (September 30). 

Chasing the difficult target of 175 in Match 12 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, RR managed just 137/9 in response, which also they could reach only because of lower-order batsman Tom Curran's (54*) impressive unbeaten half-century while the rest of unit got dismissed cheaply. 

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Uthappa, who scored 2 off 7 balls at No.4, felt he as well as in-form players such as captain Steve Smith (3) and Sanju Samson (8) could've made a better feast of it by applying themselves and taking the game deep. 

"In hindsight, you always feel that you can take a little more time, we could have taken a little more time. We got a sense that the wicket changed a little bit post the first innings, I thought the wicket began stopping a little bit," said Uthappa, replying to a query from ANI at the post-match press conference.

"Obviously, it was a used wicket, we were playing on the same wicket on which RCB played against Mumbai Indians. I think, towards the end, the wicket started getting tired, so it started stopping a bit."

"In hindsight, we definitely felt we could have taken a little bit more time to adjust to the conditions, and then we could have gone on to attack the bowlers," he added.

In the first half, with ace quick Jofra Archer (2/18) shining and the rest of the cast providing him able support, it was thought that RR have restricted KKR to a total they wouldn't mind chasing, especially having made in excess of 200 in the last two wins in Sharjah.

But those runs came in smaller boundary dimensions and this was the team's first match in Dubai. 

Uthappa, though, didn't think the bigger ground played as much part as the lack of application did in the eventual outcome of the game. 

"We have played practice matches on the bigger grounds. I think it's about adjusting to the pace of the wicket as well. I think as we play more games here, we will get a better sense of the wicket," he said. 

"In the match against KKR, we got a sense of how the Dubai wicket plays. It is pretty similar to our practice wickets. I think our performance will only climb from here on."

The 34-year-old also explained the rationale behind opting to bowl first on a ground where, with the evidence of the previous results, chasing has been quite a task. 

"Well, I think we chased a big score in the last game. There was confidence from that," said Uthappa. "We also felt that the wicket will play well. Like I said, in hindsight, we could have taken more time to adjust to the pace of the wicket, and then we could have looked to attack."

RR next play Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Abu Dhabi on Saturday (October 3).