Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fell short in its run chase against Mumbai Indians but its pacer Trent Boult said his side will stick to the ‘formula’ of having Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine at the top of the batting order.
“It’s the formula we have followed throughout the tournament. It was about Narine and Lynn trying to put pressure on the opposition,” said Boult.
Chasing 174, Kolkata choked under pressure as the opening pair of Narine and Lynn failed to click. KKR was 53 for three at the end of Powerplay.
“The Powerplay is a big phase of the game. It has come off very well for us in other games. I don’t think there’s any need to change the formula. It was just unfortunate that it did not work out tonight,” Boult said.
It was KKR’s first home defeat while chasing since 2013 and its fourth defeat in five games going into the knockout stage of this IPL.
“In this format, momentum is a big thing obviously. You would like to win as many games as you can. Unfortunately, it did not pan out our way,” Boult said.
“We had hurdles in the last couple of games. We know we have to play good cricket from now on. Every game is a tough game. It’s a must-win game for us now. The pressure is on us to deliver. Unfortunately we ran out of luck,” he added.
Boult said the wicket was two-paced and the opposition bowled really well.
“There was a little bit of variation and bounce. The luxury of bowling second is you can put the pressure on the opposition, claim wickets and make it very hard for the team to chase a decent total,” said the New Zealander.
“We probably did not bat well enough, first of all. But I thought they bowled really well on a two-paced wicket.”
Having already made it to the play-offs, Mumbai rested six of its regulars.
“It’s disappointing to lose no matter which team it is. It’s a quality opposition and they can afford the luxury of moving a few players around and try a few combination. They delivered under pressure,” Boult said.
Boult’s previous match in this IPL was against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 15 and he was the pick of KKR bowlers then with match figures of two for 30.
“It was nice to be off few weeks. It’s hard to push into the side with only four having the chance to make the playing eleven. I enjoyed been out there tonight and contributing to the side. We have a lot of quality in the group.”
Saurabh Tiwary , who played a key role in MI’s win with a stroke-filled 52, praised the team management for devising a system where every player is kept match ready.
“The one thing good about our team management is that the reserve players get to play a lot at the nets. You never get to feel that you are out of the team, which is a big plus point.
"We have a very good bench strength and the credit goes to our preparation in the build-up to the season,” the Jharkhand batsman, who impressed with his batting display after being made to sit out on the first 13 matches of the IPL season, said.
Tiwary said the win will give his side a “big advantage” ahead of the play-offs which the Mumbai Indians will have the luxury of playing at home.
(With inputs from PTI)
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