'The same bowlers will win me a game' - Nitish Rana throws his weight behind KKR bowlers despite miserable outing against SRH

Kolkata Knight Riders were handed a 23-run defeat by Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 19 of the Indian Premier League season 16 as the crowd at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, were treated to a high-scoring game on Friday, April 14. After being put in to bat first, SRH posted a mammoth total of 228/4 in the first innings courtesy of Harry Brook’s unbeaten 100 off 55 balls.

In reply, KKR could only manage to reach 205/7 in their allotted 20 overs as captain Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh scored half-centuries. After the game ended, Rana reflected on his team’s bowling performance during the game and said that he can’t be too critical of them as they will also win games for their side some other time.

“Today, even the main bowlers were going for runs, but I can’t be too critical because these are the same bowlers who will win me a game some other time. I feel the way we bowled was not according to the plans. No matter what the wicket was like, this wasn’t a 230 wicket," Rana said after the match.

Rinku Singh was once again the last man standing for KKR, and the entire dressing room had their hopes pinned on him, with KKR needing 32 to win off the last over. However, he couldn’t get the strike on the first two balls, with Shardul Thakur getting out on the first ball against Umran Malik.

The southpaw once again played a brilliant knock of 58* off 31 balls smashing four fours and four sixes in his innings. Talking about his innings, Rana said that Rinku can’t win every game for his side. He further said that they were just looking to take the game deep.

“One odd day, you’ll get an innings like Rinku had the other day, but not every day. We batted really well, we wanted to take the game deep, and then you never know," he added.

The KKR captain said that 200 will be a par score this season at the Eden Gardens, and they need to bowl better in the coming fixtures.

“Home advantage is one thing, but we know Eden Gardens tracks always play this way, we expected 200 to be a par score here and have been preparing that way, but we need to bowl better," he said.

Harry Brook dazzled under pressure

Coming back to the match, SRH rode on Harry Brook’s aggressive batting right from the start, while Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi fell cheaply inside the powerplay. Brook got good support from captain Markram, who scored 50 off 26 balls and added 72 runs for the third wicket with Brook. 

Abhishek Sharma also played a brilliant cameo of 32 off 17 balls, while Heinrich Klaasen scored 16* off six balls to propel SRH’s total beyond 220. Andre Russell was the pick of the bowlers for KKR as he picked up 3/22 in 2.1 overs.

In reply, N Jagadeesan (36 off 21), Nitish Rana (75 off 41) and Rinku Singh could only manage to take KKR to 205/7 in their allotted 20 overs as SRH won the game by 23 runs. Mayank Markande was the pick of the bowlers for SRH, picking up 2/27 in four overs, while Marco Jansen also picked up 2/37 in his four-over spell. Harry Brook was deservedly awarded Player of the Match for his knock of 100* off 55 balls.