Jacques Kallis, head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, has come out and stated that his side's defeat in the recently concluded second qualifier of the Indian Premier League against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, was a very disappointing result and a tough pill to swallow.
Kallis in his column for Times of India has written that “A good night’s sleep can help with many ills and it can certainly ease the disappointment of a sporting defeat but it doesn’t change the fact that we lost a game we should have won. We lost it rather than Sunrisers won it,”
Kolkata Knight Riders were on top for the most of that game, before they came across Rashid Khan. The Afghan wrist spinner played an amazing knock of 34 from just 10 balls which took the Sunrisers Hyderabad from a likely modest total to a stiff looking 174.
Even while chasing, KKR were in a very fine position being 87/2 half through it. This is when Rashid Khan tricked his magic on the game by striking 3 wickets in his four overs which went for only 19 runs. It turned out to be the decisive performance on the night, as KKR finished 14 runs short and Rashid won the man of the match award.
Kallis in his write-up has further written, “It is a hard pill to swallow and the guys will struggle with it for a few more days yet. We had some pretty comprehensive wins in this year’s tournament but I’m not sure we dominated any game as much as we did this one – and we lost, from a coaching perspective I sat in the dugout feeling confident and in control for 90 percent of the game – that’s how much I felt we dominated. So when you don’t win a game with that much possession then you probably have nobody to blame but yourselves.”
“Having said that, for every action, there is a reaction and it would be completely wrong not to give credit to the Sunrisers who hung in there for long periods under intense pressure and never gave up. They are a tenacious team with a terrific attitude and this wasn’t the first time they had won a game they seemed destined to lose,”
The great man concluded by pointing about the overall campaign, which was unexpected and pleasantly successful.
“But it was still a successful campaign and tournament for the Knight Riders team and franchise and one that everyone can be very pleased about. There is an abundance of young talent which makes the future of the team look very bright indeed. We will be back stronger and wiser next year and ready to compete for another title – with smiles on our faces and supported by the best fans in the country, if not the world.”
