Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 15 : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowling coach Tim Southee said that the team conceded "a few too many" runs at the start against Chennai Super Kings (IPL), after their 32-run loss in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday.
Despite taking two wickets in the power play, KKR conceded 72 runs in six overs, which helped CSK eventually post 192/5 in 20 overs.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Tim Southee said KKR were slightly off their line and length in the opening overs, which cost them early in the match. He noted that on good batting pitches in the IPL, any early inaccuracies are punished by aggressive batting. While KKR were hurt during the powerplay, he also praised the team's response, especially the spinners, who helped pull things back during the middle overs.
"I think we were probably a little bit off in the first couple of overs. I think we probably just let a few too many off at the start. We were a little bit off our line, off our links, and we've seen in the IPL that the wickets are good. Batters are going to come hard from the start, so if you're a little bit off, you get hurt. So yeah, I think we got hurt in that power play, but I think the way the guys bounced back, in particular the spinners, through the middle, and were able to, I guess, take it back a bit as well," Southee said.
Asked to bat first, CSK posted 192/5 in 20 overs, powered by key contributions from Samson (48 off 32, 4 fours and 3 sixes) and Brevis (41 off 29, 4 fours and 2 sixes), while Kartik Tyagi impressed with figures of 2/35. Anukul Roy (1/21 in 3 overs) and Sunil Narine (1/21 in 4 overs)
In reply, KKR were reduced to 29/2 but fought back through a 50-run stand between skipper Rahane (28 off 22) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (27 off 19). However, a decisive spell from Noor Ahmad triggered a collapse as KKR slumped to 90/6 and eventually finished at 160/7.