Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik rued that his side fell short by 10-15 runs and also failed to bowl well after they slumped to a seven-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals in an IPL match here.
KKR faced their second successive defeat against Delhi Capitals despite Andre Russell’s explosive innings of 21-ball 45 here Friday night. Delhi did well to remove the Windies power hitter in the penultimate over and KKR set a 179-run target.
“We knew that we needed to get a big total but we ended up getting probably 10-15 runs short. Eden has been one place where the wicket is so true and the outfield being so fast, the boundaries come easily. So here you have to get a score which is about 5-10 runs more than par on other grounds,” Karthik said at the post-match news conference.
Karthik also blamed his bowlers, saying they could have done a bit better in the absence of Sunil Narine, who was down with a hamstring issue.
“We were definitely not a bowler short for sure. We had more options like Carlos (Brathwaite). We were a few runs short and could have bowled a little better. I expected our bowlers to perform better but that did not turn out to be. Such things happen in a game of cricket,” he said.
Karthik said Narine’s absence made a huge difference.
“Sunil brings in a bit of batting and bowling. Most of all, he’s experienced with a cool head that always helps. It really makes a difference. Narine has been someone who’s given us a good start whenever he’s got an opportunity,” added Karthik.
In Narine’s absence, Shubman Gill was promoted to open the innings and the 19-year-old talented youngster responded with a 39-ball 65.
PTI