As the Kolkata Knight Riders players walked towards the dressing room, their expressions had a tale to tell. In joyous mood, the players still couldn’t believe that Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn had actually put up 100 runs well within six overs to guide them home.
They laughed, cheered, but couldn’t come to terms with it yet. And, interacting with the scribes a few minutes after the victory, KKR spinner Piyush Chawla admitted that he had never seen such big hitting before. “To be honest, never,” he said. But then, he was quick enough to laud the heroics of Lynn and Nariine. “The way Lenny (Lynn) and Sunil batted was unbelievable. They took the game away from RCB in the first six overs itself,” he added.
Chawla was also impressed by the way his team-mates added to the woes of a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling attack. “Best part of their batting was that they backed themselves and were playing only cricketing shots. If you see, in the whole six overs, they didn’t play any cross-batted shots. They were just playing on the merit of the ball, and were looking to clear the infield. That’s why they could succeed,” Chawla said.
This season has been a revelation of sorts for Narine—the batsman. While he has been consistent with the ball, the West Indies cricketer has made his presence felt as an opening batsman as well. Does Narine’s transformation put the other spinners in a fix too?
Chawla, however, differed. “It depends on the role. He opens the innings, and he is given that particular role that you go and play your natural game. Somebody like me who bats at No. 7 or 8, gets to face only 8-10 balls. My job is to sail the team through if I have a chance,” he added.
Despite losing its top three RCB batsmen—Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle—within 34 runs, RCB managed to reach 158. And Chawla admitted that they did concede 15-20 extra runs. “When they got to 158, we thought, probably we have given away 15-20 runs extra. There were no plans as such,” he said, adding: “Sunil’s job is to go there and express the batting. We all know the kind of form Lenny is in. It’s great to see him back after a month. The way he was batting, it looked as if he was never injured. There was no particular plan. They ended the game in first six overs.”
While Lynn made a comeback after a career threatening shoulder injury, KKR is hoping to get back the services of Robin Uthappa in the next match. “Today, Robin was doing the fitness and all. He looked quite fit, so he should be good to go in the next game,” the spinner said.
Worst season for RCB
If KKR was happy to inch closer to the play-offs, RCB ended his home run, with another defeat. And, Travis Head admitted that it’s the worst season for the side. “Result-wise, this is probably the worst season. It is disappointing result,” he said, adding that KKR literally finished off the game in first six overs.
However, he made it clear that the side had a great bonding. “Nothing has changed off the field since last season. We still enjoy as an unit. But it hasn’t gelled well on the field. It happens in T20 cricket. You can’t get back the momentum back once things go bad,” he added.
While failed to crack the Lynn code, Head admitted that Lynn has been the most powerful hitter this season. “He has a reputation of being a big hitter in Big Bash League too. In IPL, he’s done the same. He is an unbelievable hitter of the ball,” he said, adding that Lynn and Narine put the pressure back on RCB in six overs. “They took advantage of the new ball,” he said.
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