Skipper Rana lauds KKR for showing fight against SRH after being 20-3

Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana insisted they have no reason to feel defeated after Friday's loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad. At the post-match press conference on Friday night, the KKR skipper pointed to the team's response in the face of the mammoth target.

"Chasing 229 is very tough on any track, and when you lose three wickets inside the Powerplay, you are always behind. Yet, we did make a match of it," said Rana, who himself helped raise visions of victory at a packed Eden Gardens with a 41-ball 75 that had six sixes and five boundaries. "Yes, we can do better as a bowling unit and we'll discuss that."

The Knights registered their third consecutive 200-plus total, but were 24 short of the target when the overs ran out. There were still three wickets remaining, among them Rinku Singh, who has a new-found reputation to defend after his Ahmedabad heroics. The 25-year-old was unbeaten on a 31-ball 58 with four boundaries and four sixes.

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The sixth-wicket partnership of 69 between Rana and Rinku had fans hoping for another out-of-the-blue victory but, then, the match had been all but lost in the first half.

"He is a clean hitter and has a very clear mind," said Abhishek Sharma of the Sunrisers when asked to comment on Harry Brook's unbeaten 100 that helped Sunrisers to that huge total. "I've seen him from our under-19 days and knew he is capable of producing an innings like this," added Abhishek, who had to give up his opener's slot when Brook was given that job.

Rana defended his bowlers, who were taken to the cleaners. "When you have someone playing like Brook did, credit must also go to the batsman."

The 24-year-old Englishman batted for more than one-and-half hours in searing 40 degrees. Abhishek was all praise for Sunrisers' support staff. "We were all very well hydrated through the day, from hours before the match," he said. KKR, in contrast, saw Andre Russell seriously hamstrung by cramps. The big Jamaican completed only half his quota of overs and then hardly looked himself in his six-ball stay at the wicket on a day his power-hitting could have made a huge difference.