Two defeats in a row after a solid win against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Questions raised against the team's strategy of against Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad...
...But our Knights kept their cool and took lessons from those games. Against Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens, after being asked to bat first, we posted a comfortable total of 200 runs. Despite losing Sunil Narine (1) early, Nitish Rana (59) and our skipper, Dinesh Karthik (19), took over before Andre Russell (41 off 12 balls) did what he does best by playing a blistering knock.
The defeat against Chennai Super Kings after posting 202 runs was still fresh in mind, so our bowlers had a job in hand. They not only managed to defend the target, but wrapped up DD's innings in style - inside just 15 overs - to win the match convincingly by 71 runs.
Winning against DD was a confidence-booster, but all eyes shifted to Jaipur, where we faced Rajasthan Royals in our fifth encounter. A team that had an unbeaten run of 9 matches played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Courtesy to a valiant effort by Piyush Chawla (1/18 in 4 overs) during the powerplay, Royals were held at 160/8 in their first innings.
Our team never believed in a one man show, and are always known to come out on top whenever they've played as a unit. We did exactly the same during the chase. After losing Chris Lynn (0) in the first over, Sunil Narine (35 off 25 balls) played an uncharacteristic innings with his Vice-Captain Robin Uthappa (48 off 36 balls). A quick-fire knock from Dinesh Karthik (42* off 23 balls) and Nitish Rana (35*) helped us cross the finishing line comfortably.
Next up, we were up against Kings XI Punjab at Eden Gardens. Chris Lynn (74 off 41 balls) found his rhythm back at the top order. Dinesh Karthik (43) and his deputy, Robin Uthappa (34) played their part as we posted 191/7 in the first innings. During the chase, KXIP's openers, KL Rahul (60) and Chris Gayle (62*) had no trouble while chasing 125 runs (D/L method), as they won the match by 9 wickets.
We now have two away games on our rota. The first one being against Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday, April 27, which will be followed by a trip down South against RCB on April 29. KKR is in for two fantastic contests as we slowly move towards the business end of the tournament.