Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer on Friday (15th April) talked about the loss his side suffered against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 25 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 in Mumbai. He admitted that it was an off day for his bowlers.
KKR suffered their second straight loss of the IPL 15 after they were pounded by SRH, who registered their third win of the season. Invited to bat first, the two-time champions looked clueless against the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen and T Natarajan in the powerplay and found themselves struggling at 31/3.
Skipper Iyer tried to steady the innings and looked good until Umran Malik uprooted his stumps for 28. Nitish Rana then stood tall for his side with a sensational half-century. He was complimented well by Andre Russel in the end. The all-rounder smashed unbeaten 49 runs in 25 balls and helped his side post a total of 175 runs on the board.
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Defending the target, KKR looked decent with the ball at the start as they removed both Abhishek Sharma (3) and Kane Williamson (17) inside the powerplay. But after that Rahul Tripathi changed the course of the game completely towards his side with a fantastic knock of 37-ball 71. Aiden Markram (68* off 36 balls) also chipped in and smashed his second half-century of the season to help SRH win the match by 7 wickets.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Shreyas Iyer said that his side did a great job to post a ‘good total’ on the board. Calling it as an off day for the bowling unit, the KKR skipper praised Rahul Tripathi for his momentum-changing innings.
"Feeling very drained. I thought it was a good total. To be honest, Tripathi came in and changed the moment and didn't allow us to settle. Their bowlers executed the stuff well as the ball was seaming
“As batters, we were settled at the end of the powerplay and put a great effort as a batting unit. Was an off day as a bowling unit," Shreyas Iyer said.
KKR will next face Rajasthan Royals on Monday (18th April) at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
(ANI inputs)
