KKR needs one big performance against Mumbai in the final group game: Chris Lynn

Kolkata Knight Riders opener Chris Lynn who is going through a purple patch in his career so far is of the opinion that KKR needs one big performance against the Mumbai Indians in their final group clash to ensure they finish at the top two in the points table. Lynn smashed a sensational 84 against Kings XI Punjab yesterday but was unable to get them over the line.

He was utterly disappointed after getting run out on 84 with KKR requiring more than 30 in the last 2 and a half overs. It was the final nail in the coffin for the visitors as the lower order batsmen failed to press on the accelerator and eventually lost the clash by 14 runs. Lynn said he was disappointed that he couldn’t finish the match but feels there are a lot of positives to take from yesterday’s match.

“Ya obviously disappointed that you don’t get the points at the end of the game. I think we can take a few positives out of this game. We followed what we needed to work on. We didn’t do that tonight. If we lose the next one, we can possibly find ourselves out of the next one. There is going to be some rest and then back on the ground and one big performance against Mumbai,” Lynn was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

Captain Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa was dismissed cheaply yesterday but Lynn defended them saying they have been in terrific touch of late and it is not possible to score heavily every day especially in the shortest format.

“Look Robin and Gautam have been very good so far this season. In the T20 format, not everyone is going to score runs every time. It wasn’t big tonight but you cannot lose your form with one game. It’s one game and we got new combinations as well. We still got a lot of positives in today’s game and we hope it’s going to work out throughout the week and we’ll be fine,” the hard-hitting right-hander said.

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He, however, lauded the Punjab bowlers for holding their nerves and sealing a must-win victory. “If you look back on, it was the right thing. We could have found ourselves in a more comfortable position if we could distract them more. To their credit, the Kings XI boys bowled really well.”

“You gotta give KXIP credit. We weren’t good enough tonight. But the first six overs we played to our strength. We were in control of the match after the powerplay. We collected a lot many runs in the powerplay. But the dot balls between the sixth and the 11th over dented our run-rate. We could not capitalise in that period and lost our way, We lost two quick wickets and momentum is huge in cricket, as we all know,” Lynn said.

Losing wicket at regular intervals cost KKR the game in the end. They were cruising at one stage when Lynn and Gambhir were batting but after Gauti’s dismissal, the scales tilted in favour of the hosts. “The way they bowled after the powerplay speaks highly of their talent. Me and Gautam Gambhir were cruising along nicely when Rahul Tewatia got him out. We got quite close but lost in the end,” Lynn concluded.