In a do-or-die encounter to enter the IPL 2019 playoffs, Kolkata Knight Riders couldn’t manage to get past Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium. The defeat put an end to our campaign with plenty of positives and areas to work on for the next season.
In the post match presentation, Skipper Dinesh Karthik spoke in detail on our final league encounter and thoughts on this season. Despite a positive start with 49 runs on the board after six overs, KKR never got going after that. “We didn’t find momentum after the first six overs and with the regular fall of wickets, it didn’t help our cause.”
When asked about the playing conditions and the pitch, “It wasn’t easy to play the shots since the ball was stopping a bit and MI bowlers made the most of it by bowling the cutters regularly. Although, there was dew in the second innings and that made batting easier but that's not an excuse.”
The big Jamaican hitter, Andre Russell had a rare failure as he got dismissed for a first-ball duck but DK had plenty of praise for him. “Expecting him (Russell) to deliver every time is unfair and he has been fantastic for us throughout the tournament.”
It was rather a disappointing season considering the fantastic start with four wins from the first five matches. The KKR think tank and Skipper DK will look to bounce back in style next year with stronger performances. “Sometimes the things don’t go your way and that’s fine. It wasn’t our best season but as a team we never stopped trying. A lot of areas to improve for us and I am sure we will come back stronger next year.”
