The Kolkata Knight Riders’ campaign in IPL 2022 ended with a last-ball loss to the Lucknow Super Giants but Shreyas Iyer looked at the positives.
KKR were almost out for the count at one stage on Wednesday and needed 61 off 19 balls. But Rinku Singh (40 off 15 balls) and Sunil Narine (21 not out off 7) brought it down to 21 off the last over.
“I am not feeling sad at all. That was one of the best games of cricket I have played. The way we showed character and attitude was simply outstanding,” said Shreyas, who signed off this year’s campaign with a 29-ball 50.
The KKR captain was all praise for Rinku’s effort. “I love the way Rinku got us till the end but unfortunately couldn’t time it when two balls were remaining... it was really sad. I was hoping he could finish the game for us and could have been the hero, but still played a fantastic knock and I am really happy for him.”
Talking about the pitch, Shreyas said: “When we came in, I never thought it would play this way because it was dry and the grass wasn’t that wet. I thought there would be a little help for the spinners...
“Lucknow took on the bowlers and got a par total. It was a do-or-die situation for us, and even after losing two wickets in the Powerplay, our mindset was to take it as close as possible and put them under pressure.”
Summing up this season, his first as the Knights captain, Shreyas said: “It was a volatile season for us, we started great but lost five games in a row and I personally feel we did a lot of chopping and changing. We had to do that because of the niggles and form, but we also got to know players like Rinku.
“The vibe has always been positive in the dressing room and we never hit the panic button. I have built a really good relationship with Baz (Brendon McCullum) and he is someone who is calm and composed when the situation is going out of the way... He’s got that aura when he walks around the players and never judges the players, all of us are equal to him,” added Shreyas.
