Follow UsKolkata Knight Riders suffered their seventh defeat in 12 league matches to put their qualification in jeopardy after being thrashed by Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets at Eden Gardens on Thursday, May 11.
After being asked to bat first, the Knight Riders managed to post only 149 runs on the board on a sluggish wicket courtesy off a half-century by Venkatesh Iyer.
The southpaw scored 57 off 42 deliveries, studded with two boundaries and four sixes to guide the team out of a challenging situation after losing early wickets to some quality fielding by the Royals.
"The way they fielded, they easily saved around 20-odd runs on the field, which in a T20 is unbelievable. With two wickets and two new batters on the crease, the wicket was not very easy to bat. So that is when we slowed down just a little bit," he said in the post-match press conference.
"I would take responsibility for playing a lot of dot balls. I should have rotated more, and I think that little phase was owned by Rajasthan, but we made a good comeback in the game. However, at the end of the day, it did not matter."
The 28-year-old also believed in trusting his game and practising a variety of strokes in training to get more confident in the game.
"In this set-up, you are always practising all those shots. Sweep and reverse-sweep have become orthodox shots now. If you have command over them, then you are confident heading into the game and make it look like it is a basic shot. and not an unorthodox shot,"
The southpaw also backed his skipper despite conceding 26 runs in the first over and said, "The wicket was holding just a little bit on the slower side we wanted to exploit the spin with the newer ball. If the new ball starts turning, then it will be very difficult for the batter. It didn't, and we are talking post-game it did not work out."
"Nitish is an unbelievable bowler. We all know what Nitish is capable of with the ball, and he has picked up crucial wickets in his career. With a left-hander in the middle, an off-spinner is never a wrong option. Unfortunately, it did not go in our favour today, and had he picked up the wicket, it would have been a masterstroke," he further added.
Venkatesh also heaped praises on Yashasvi Jaiswal, who smashed the fastest half-century in the history of IPL that powered the Royals over the line in 13.1 overs.
The youngster smashed an unbeaten 98 off 47 deliveries to etch his name in the record books and help the Royals gain vital two points in this clash.
"I don't think the wicket changed much. Jaiswal batted unbelievably well. The way he played every ball, we did not have an answer to his onslaught. When he was batting, it felt like he was batting on a different track altogether because no other batter found it easy," Venkatesh said.
"It is the variety of shots that he hit. I remember just one reverse sweep he hit. The rest were orthodox shots that were needed on this pitch. He is the man in form and an amazing batter."
"If you get 20-odd runs in the first over, that really boosts your confidence. The bowling team is waiting for you to make a mistake, and that's when as a batter, you can capitalize," he concluded.
Kolkata Knight Riders will now face Chennai Super Kings in an evening encounter on Sunday, May 14, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.