Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ko Eden Gardens mein Gujarat Titans (GT) ke haathon 39 runs se karari haar jhelni padi. 199 ka target chase karte waqt KKR ke top order ne hi disappoint kar diya, aur uske baad poori team pressure mein aa gayi.
“Mere hisaab se bowlers ne kamaal ka kaam kiya. 200 ke neeche GT ko rokna asaan nahi tha, lekin unhone mauka diya jeetne ka,” post-match press conference mein mentor Dwayne Bravo ne kaha.
Shubman Gill aur Sai Sudharsan ki partnership se GT ne accha score banaya, lekin Bravo ne KKR ke bowlers ki taareef ki. Lekin batting… wahaan picture thodi dark ho gayi.
“Unfortunately, powerplay mein wahi start nahi mila jo chahiye tha. Phir middle overs mein aur slow ho gaye, aur aakhri mein collapse ho gaya,” Bravo ne khul kar kaha.
Andre Russell ki form par sawaal uth rahe hain kyunki unhone ab tak sirf 55 runs banaye hain 6 matches mein. Lekin Bravo ne unka pura support kiya:
“Russell ek experienced aur successful player hai. Sirf uske upar blame daalna sahi nahi hai. Team ka poora batting unit hi struggle kar raha hai. Sabko support karna hoga aur mentally ready rakhna hoga,” Bravo ne bataya.
Bravo ne yeh bhi highlight kiya ki Russell ko leg spinners se dikkat hui hai, lekin yeh koi badi problem nahi hai. Asal problem hai top order ka fail hona, jiske wajah se Russell ko har baar impossible situation mein bat karna padta hai.
“Har team ke paas Rashid Khan jaise leg spinner nahi hote. Lekin jab Russell batting mein aata hai, tab run rate already 14-15 hota hai. Jab tak top order perform nahi karega, Russell game kaise finish karega? Yeh sochne ki baat hai,” Bravo ne clearly kaha.
KKR ki yeh season ki teesri haar thi, aur ab woh points table mein 7th number par aa gaye hain. Agla match unka Punjab Kings ke against hai 26 April ko, fir wahi Eden Gardens mein. Dekhna hoga kya is baar top order utrega ya phir Russell par hi sari umeed lagi rahegi.
