IPL 2022 | We need to bowl well in the powerplay and death overs, says Shreyas Iyer

Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a defeat against Lucknow Super Giants by a huge margin of 75 runs. KKR are eighth in the points table currently and they have a tough road ahead to qualify for playoffs. KKR won the toss and opted to bowl first. LSG posted a decent total of 176/7 in the first innings. Andre Russell picked a couple of wickets while Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi and Tim Southee bagged a single wicket each. 

KKR lost their wickets regularly and were eventually bundled out on 101. Andre Rusell showed some resistance as he smashed 45 runs from just 19 balls and might have been able to take the game away from the opposition with his power-hitting. Sunil Narine also scored 22 runs from 12 balls but both of them were not able to take the team near the target. 

Reflecting on the defeat, captain Shreyas Iyer said that the bowlers should have done better in the power play and at the back end of the innings. 

“We are not able to capitalize on the small things. In the middle overs we have been bowling amazing, just that we need to do well in the powerplay and in the death overs. We need to assess that and bounce back. In the next three games we need to do that,” Shreyas said in the post-match presentation.

Shreyas opted to bowl first on a two-paced pitch after winning the toss but the decision turned out to be bad for the team as they were smashed for a decent total by the opposition. Shreyas revealed that he and head coach Brendon McCullum decide what to do after winning the toss.

“We (Myself and McCullum) discuss about chasing, we have this conversation every now and then. I have won a lot of tosses, but it would have been good if I lost those tosses,” he explained.