Karthik takes heart from KKR's 'good' IPL season

Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Yusuf Pathan said his team was not surprised with the explosive batting of leg-spinner Rashid Khan, whose all-round showing helped SRH beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 14 runs in Qualifier 2 and reach the Indian Premier League final at the Eden Gardens here on Friday.

“Rashid has played such cameos of 20s and 30s in the Big Bash League. He has the ability to score some quick runs for which he was sent a slot up than his usual position. We had no doubt about his abilities,” said Yusuf in the post-match press conference.

“Rashid has been bowling well throughout the season. He batted and bowled well and facilitated our progress to the final.”

Read: All-round Rashid steers SRH into final

Asked how SRH came back after losing four matches on the trot, Yusuf said, “We believed in our abilities and won the important match as a team.

“The two best sides have reached the final and whosoever plays better will win.”

KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik thinks Nitish Rana's run out and Robin Uthappa's wicket were crucial moments.

“Rana's wicket was crucial. If he had pushed, it would have been different. It was silly to have a silly dismissal like that.

“That was a poor stroke from Robin. Even he would agree with that.”

Nevertheless, Karthik took heart from the overall showing of the team this season. “It was good campaign. We played as a team and have some good memories.

“We have found some fine young players such as Shubman Gill, Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Rana and we can look forward to them in the future,” said Karthik.