Man of the match Mohit Sharma and KKR’s top-scorer Chris Lynn were unanimous in their analysis that the middle overs turned the tide of the match on Tuesday.
READ: Lynn's innings in vain as KXIP bowlers restrict KKR
KKR was cruising at 61 for one at the end of the powerplay when Kings XI Punjab spinners came into the rescue and stemmed the free flow of runs. Leg-spinner Rahul Tewatia came in for special praise from Sharma.
“I think the spinners especially Rahul Tewatia was the turning point. It was his first match of this season. His four overs was the turning point and gave away just 18 runs,” said Sharma. “Sandy also bowled well but in the end I think it was Tewatia’s four overs that was the difference.”
Lynn who raced to 41 in the powerplay from 19 balls, needed another 33 balls for his next 43 runs and agreed that the dots balls in the middle over cost the team.
“The dot balls between the sixth and the 11th over dented our run-rate. If we had just sort of rotated the strike a bit more, we would have found ourselves in a lot more comfortable position rather than trying to whack down towards the end. To their credit, the Kings XI boys bowled really well in the death overs. That's what you can ask for and credit has got to go to them.”
When asked what the talk was after the initial fireworks from Lynn and Narine, Sharma said, “It wasn’t that we bowled bad, it was just that Narine and Lynn played well. They started hitting from the first ball. Sandy bowled well so did Matt Henry but some of the balls went for fours. Our focus was on to keep and stick to our plans and process.”
Sharma added, “He (Lynn) is a big player and he bats in T20 as if its baseball. He always punishes a loose ball. The moment he got out the match turned in our favour as a new batsman cannot come in and hit shots right from the start.”
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