IPL 2023, CSK vs KKR | Who said what ft. Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana
Kolkata Knight Riders outplayed Chennai Super Kings in a low-scoring encounter on Sunday beating the hosts by six wickets. Rinku Singh revealed that batting at a similar position in domestic cricket has helped him in IPL while Nitish Rana stated that the ball didn’t turn much in the second innings.
Kolkata Knight Riders registered their sixth win of the IPL 2023 against Chennai Super Kings beating the hosts by six wickets. CSK won the toss and opted to bat first but the spin-friendly nature of the surface in the first innings troubled their batters. They were reduced to 72/5 at one stage but Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja staged the recovery and helped the team to post a total of 144/6.Â
CSK responded in a befitting manner while defending the total dismissing three opposition batters for a team total of 33. Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh then built a 99-run partnership and ensured the team a win. Rana scored unbeaten 57 runs while Rinku was dismissed on 54 runs via run-out. KKR won the game by six wickets in the end with nine balls to spare.Â
Rinku Singh earned a Player of the Match award for his knock and stated that he relied on the tactic of taking singles frequently and capitalise on loose balls offered by the bower.
Lost some wickets early. When I went in, Nitish bhaiyya said it's a tough wicket. Will knock it around for singles and capitalise on loose balls. I bat in the same position in domestic cricket, play the same way. I eat well, have always had the power. A lot of hard work behind it.
Nitish Rana praised coach Chandrakant Pandit for insisting to take a heavy roller in the second innings. He also remarked that every team have a home advantage except for KKR.
Said at the toss that if all 3 departments do well, our chances are good. Have to give credit to Chandu sir (coach Chandrakant Pandit) for this - I wasn't in favour of taking heavy roller but he insisted to go for it. I feared pitch might break up. But that didn't happen and ball didn't turn much. Every team has home advantage except KKR.
After going wicketless in several matches, Sunil Narine scalped two wickets while conceding 15 runs and opined that the help for the spin from the surface worked in his favour.Â
Probably the pitch helped, was just trying to use the conditions as best I could. (On why he’s struggled at times this season)The pitches are good, and with the extra player coming in the batters have more leeway, but we need to plan accordingly to counter that. You can plan and you can innovate, but sometimes it is just about keeping it as simple as possible and enjoying your wicket.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni commented that the dew factor and difference of purchase for spinners in the second innings played a big role.Â
One of those days when you win the toss and bat first and the moment the first ball was bowled in the second innings, you realise it is a 180 wicket.I think the dew made a big difference. If you compare the first innings to the second innings, there was a lot more purchase for the spinners in the first innings and that's what really got to us.Whenever there is no certainty about dew that is when the decision (at the toss) becomes slightly tricky.So we can't really blame any batter or bowler for this loss. They tried their best, but the conditions had a big impact on the game.Very happy with the way Shivam Dube has done and it's important for him to keep continuing game after game and not get satisfied with what he has done.Deepak Chahar is definitely an asset. At times... I feel now he is very experienced to realize at times that if it is not swinging what is the length to bowl.
KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar praised Rinku saying he is the ideal package to have in any format.Â
I think it's just the beginning and the tip of the iceberg in terms of what he is gonna achieve going forward because he is a level-headed, hard-working who wants to evolve as a cricketer and he is the ideal package to have in any format in any team.