KKR captain Shreyas Iyer has claimed that their team management is not worried about the starts they are getting from the openers Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane in IPL 2022. Shreyas has also said that he would not blame anyone for falling 44 runs short against DC when they were chasing 216.
Despite winning three out of five matches so far in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have not got the best of starts so far this year. Their openers – Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane – did forge 43 runs off 38 balls against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), but they were only chasing 132 in that encounter.
The KKR’s recent fixture against Delhi Capitals (DC) did not go out as they planned. Their potent bowling unit was smashed all over the perk by the Delhi-based franchise, led by Prithvi Shaw and David Warner, as they piled up 215/5 at the end of 20 overs at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. In response, Rahane, who seemed to be out of touch, fell for eight off 14 balls, which raised many eyebrows.
After the slow start they got, the KKR were never able to get the control of the game and in the end, they were bowled out for 171 in 19.4 overs. However, their skipper Shreyas Iyer, despite not-so-active starts from KKR so far in the edition, is not ready to think about the matter yet. Though Shreyas mentioned that they required a rousing start to make that happen against DC.
“Absolutely not worried about the starts we’re getting. But when you’re chasing 214-215 you need to get off to a really good start. And, you know, you can’t think twice about what the bowler is going to bowl because you have to have that attacking mindset right from ball one and one mistake can get you out as a batsman,” said Shreyas at the post-match press conference.
“I wouldn’t blame anyone in this particular chase. But, yes, we have this history in the last few games that we didn’t get really good starts and obviously that is also something we need to work on. And this is just the early stage of the tournament. So, you know, once we start practising more, start executing stuff really well on the field, I think, things will be really taken care of pretty well.”
KKR, who slipped to second place on the points table, will next meet Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday (April 15) at the same venue.
