IPL 2023: Chandu’s family planning

After Rinku Singh’s heroic last-ball victory over defending champions Gujarat Titans, top-scorer Venkatesh Iyer lauds head coach Pandit’s efforts in making KKR a unified household

Whenever Chandrakant Pandit takes over as coach, he turns a team into a champion side. 
 
Going by Kolkata Knight Riders’ last two outings, every team in IPL-16 must watch out for Pandit’s marauding team.

On Sunday, they pulled off an improbable victory after a roller coaster ride with defending champions Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Venkatesh Iyer

Southpaw Rinku Singh pulled a rabbit out of the hat by smoking five sixes in a row in the last over of the match for KKR’s three-wicket win.

Venkatesh Iyer, who created the platform for that thrilling finish with a 40-ball 83, sang hosannas of Pandit, the coach he believes has strengthened the team as a unit. “I am very happy for Chandrakant Pandit sir,” he said in a reply to a question from mid-day after the match on Sunday.

“He is a stalwart in the modern game and using his tactics at the international level, I can bet my life on the fact that KKR are playing there as a unit. Everyone in the KKR team is sticking together as a family. That is something that he [Pandit] is constantly working on, to build a unit, to build a family and it is very satisfying to see that work,” eulogised Venkatesh.

Also read: IPL 2023: Thakur, Gurbaz, Rinku, spinners help KKR thrash RCB by 81 runs

Talking about his own association with Pandit, he pointed out: “He is my domestic [Madhya Pradesh] coach. I know a lot of things that he does not just on the field but off the field as well. He believes in two things—fitness and discipline, which are very important in playing cricket. He is ethically very strong as well. Every time we go out there, we will put out a disciplined show, irrespective of the result. We are a very disciplined side on and off the field, that is the culture he has built in the team,” Iyer added.

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