IPL 10: Mumbai Indians delivered under pressure, says Trent Boult

The Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of the Mumbai Indians in their last league game of the season. They lost the MI after they failed to chase a modest 174 at their fortress in the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Pacer Trent Boult was seen back into the mix of things for the tournament after being out for a long time. He replaced Nathan Coulter-Nile in the lineup and had a decent outing on his comeback.

In the post-match press conference, Trent Boult rued the fact that the batting did not click for them on the day. A win in the match would have done wonders to their position in the points table. He credited the Mumbai Indians bowlers for applying themselves in a much better way to come out on the top in the game. Earlier, even KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir had blamed poor batting as the reason for their defeat in the match.

“We didn’t probably bat well enough but they bowled pretty well on a wicket that offered a little bit of pace, variation and bounce and luxury bowling second, you can put the pressure on opposition, click wickets and it becomes very hard for the opposition side to push on a side to a decent total,” quoted Trent Boult.

He further elaborated the fact that in leagues such as the IPL, it is of utmost importance to get the maximum number of wins under the belt. Every single game from this stage is going to be a knockout game and hence the Knight Riders need to pull up their socks for the business end of the tournament.

“Ideally, in this format momentum is a big thing and you want to win as many games as you can. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan our way. We had hurdles in the last couple of games. We know we have to pay good cricket from now on. Every game is a tough game. It’s a must win game obviously so the pressure is on us to deliver and unfortunately we were just a bit off the mark today,” he quoted as per the quotes in the Indian Express.

On the powerhouse opening pair

The KKR have been propelled by their opening powerhouse of Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine on multiple occasions this season. The match against the Mumbai Indians was a rare off day for the hard-hitting duo. Narine perished in the very first over and that put the Knight Riders on the back foot early on in the run chase.

“It’s the formula that we follow throughout the tournament. With Sunny (Sunil Narine) and Lynn (Chris), we can put pressure on the opposition and the power play is a big face of the game and in other games, it has come off very well. I don’t think there is any need to change that formula, something that team plays well too. Just, unfortunately, it didn’t work out today,” quipped Trent Boult.

Lastly, he conceded that it is always disappointing to lose. A win in the match would have meant KKR finishing in the top two of the points table. This would have given them the luxury of having two shots at the finals this season.

“It’s disappointing to lose. They are in a quality position and afford the luxury of moving a few players around and try a few combinations perhaps but yeah they came here with a purpose to win and they obviously delivered under pressure,” Trent Boult concluded.