Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ended their four-match losing streak as they handed a five-wicket loss to KL Rahul’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) in match 21 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
KKR’s head coach Brendon McCullum who was really happy with the team’s performance delivered a passionate speech in the dressing room on Monday, after the match.
“Outstanding efforts tonight. Two points, so well done to everyone. We did the job with the ball, we did the job on the field. The next step is to continue to get tighter and tighter as a unit,” McCullum said in a video posted by KKR’s official Instagram handle.
IPL 2021: Sunil Gavaskar urges KKR to try new opening pair after Shubman Gill's struggles continue
“We put ourselves under a little bit of pressure with the bat. But I want to focus on the fact that at 20/3. Eoin Morgan and Rahul Tripathi counter-attacked with the bat, And just through some of the intent you guys showed. All of a sudden started to put some pressure back on them and eased the pressure on us,” he added.
The former New Zealand skipper then talked about playing cricket with intent and that with this win they should get some confidence under their belt.
“That's what I mean about playing cricket with intent. No one is going to give it to you. You gotta go and have it. Alright! You guys did that today. We've started off well. We've got ourselves a win now. Got a little bit of confidence under the belt,” the 39-year-old said.
After this win over PBKS, the two-time champions have come up to the fifth spot on the points table. Thus, it will be interesting to see how this KKR unit performs against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Thursday (29 April) at the same venue in Ahmedabad.
(With NDTV Sports inputs)
