The Kolkata Knight Riders are counting on the positives from their opening game defeat to Punjab Kings. Going into their first home match at the Eden in almost four years, head coach Chandrakant Pandit lauded the character shown by the team at Mohali last Saturday even when the chips were down.
“I’m looking at it in a very positive way. The way the team has performed, we were in the game till the very last in spite of losing back-to-back wickets.
“The guys had shown their character to remain in the game. That’s the positivity with which we’re going into the next game,” Pandit said on the eve of the clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Batting, especially the top order, is the Knight Riders’ main area of concern. In fact, wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz was seen having a lengthy discussion with RCB talisman Virat Kohli on the sidelines of the two teams’ practice sessions. The Knights had also called Bengal batters Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sudip Gharami for trials.
Pandit, though, feels one should be a little more patient with his batters. “Every individual in our team has created an impact at the domestic and international level.
“One cannot be judgmental after just the first game. Looking at our last game, we were in it till the end. I’m pretty confident of the side we have,” Pandit said.
RCB, on the other hand, are looking to make optimum use of the Powerplay. “The focus is on using the Powerplay to maximum use both as a bowling and batting unit. It will make a difference,” Bangalore pacer Akash Deep said.
