Kolkata: “We don’t need to panic,” said Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane after their heavy loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL opener, firmly backing their explosive middle-order despite its failure to deliver.
The defending champions, under new skipper Rahane, were scoring at over 10 runs per over at the halfway mark when RCB turned the tide in their favour.
A match-turning spell from left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya restricted KKR to a below-par 174/8, a target RCB chased down with 22 balls to spare at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
“This is our first game of the season and the batting line-up or the team which we have, we have guys who like to go after the ball. I don’t want to pinpoint on certain things. As a team, I thought, in a few areas we did really well. There’re always areas we can improve as a team, as an individual,” Rahane said at the post-match media interaction.
Backing his middle-order batters despite their struggles, Rahane said, “Because guys who got out in the middle overs, they actually did well for us, for this franchise in the past. So, I’m going to back them. They tried to play their game tonight. It didn’t work out, but it’s okay.”
Calling their middle-order “experienced, dangerous, and explosive,” Rahane said: “They have handled many situations like this. It’s always about giving them that freedom and allowing them to go out there and play their game. “If that works out, it looks really good. If that didn’t work out today, it’s okay. It’s going to happen. This is a long tournament. As a team, we back each and every individual and that is the goal.” One major talking point was Rinku Singh’s lower down the order at number 6 as KKR opted for Impact sub Angkrish Raghuvanshi ahead of him. “Rinku has been batting really well for KKR and also for the Indian team. Especially in this shorter format, he has been doing really well. The talks, as you mentioned, sending Rinku up the order. Yes, we are thinking about it. “But sometimes you have to play with certain situations. And you have to see who is actually better in that particular situation. We thought Angkrish was the better option because we had around 10-11 overs when Angkrish went in. But we will see him bat up the order.” KKR’s pace-bowling also looked thin without Anrich Nortje (back injury) as the South African recruit is still not 100 per cent fit. In his absence Spencer Johnson leaked at 13-plus runs per over, while Vaibhav Arora (14.00) and Harshit Rana (10.66) were also expensive.
“We don’t need to panic or we don’t need to think too much. It’s a tough sport for fast bowlers, especially for the bowlers. They are trying hard. They are working hard. And for me, it’s always about controlling the control levels. “Again, guys who are sitting on the bench, they are equally good. But
we have to actually see the combination, what combination we can go with.”