Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer felt that it was an off day for his bowlers after the seven-wicket loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Knights’ bowlers could not defend a total of 175/8 as the Sunrisers chased it down in 17.5 overs, with former Knight Rahul Tripathi smashing 71 off 37 balls.
“Feeling very drained... I thought it was a good total. Tripathi came in and changed the game and didn’t allow us to settle. Their bowlers executed the stuff well as the ball was seaming. We put up a great effort as a batting unit, but was an off day as a bowling unit,” Shreyas said.
Winning captain Kane Williamson, on the other hand, was proud of his bowlers’ show in the death overs. “To take early wickets against Kolkata, who kept coming at us, helped us. Our death bowling was superb,” he said.
“Then to go out there and chase it with Rahul and (Aiden) Markram playing so well... All in all a fantastic performance,” he added.
Lauding pacers Marco Jansen and Umran Malik, the New Zealander said: “Marco with his bouncers and with the new ball is key. Umran is unique that he touches the 150 mark. He goes for fours on many occasions, but he is always looking to improve.”
Tripathi, the Man of the Match, said: “I had fun... There are tough days but on good days, I look to enjoy.”