Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Dinesh Karthik lauded bowlers Sunil Narine and Prasidh Krishna for putting pressure on the opponent batters in the death overs after winning the game by a mere margin of two-run against Kings XI Punjab.
KXIP collapsed from 149/2 to 158/5 in the last two overs as KKR bowlers made a comeback to clinch the final ball thriller.
Krishna returned with the figures of 4-29 in his fours overs while Narine clinched two wickets.
"I think the Kings XI Punjab took the chase really deep, they batted well, they kept us out of the game for most of it, when they batted they did not give us many opportunities. They were taking singles, odd boundaries were coming but we just hung in there and believed that if we get a wicket at some time, we can put on pressure on them. Credit to Sunil and Prasidh for creating pressure on them, overall a good bowling effort," Karthik said in the post-match press conference.
"We were trying to give KL a single and put other batsmen on strike, we were trying to put pressure on the other batsman, that was the plan. Prasidh did that beautifully, even Sunil showed his experience, bowling at the death is not easy, but he was really good," he added.
KXIP needed 14 runs off the final over but Sunil Narine exceptional bowling performance denied Punjab a much-needed win. In the final ball, Glenn Maxwell smashed a four that almost looked a six as KXIP lost the match by 2 runs.
"It was Sunil to bowl in the final over, what he could bowl towards the last ball was the only discussion we had, he was very sure about what he was doing, on the last ball we just had a chat on what he would bowl, we decided to bowl a wide yorker, but Maxwell played a good shot, it was a close and great game," the skipper said.
"I think the way the group has supported me from the start has been fabulous, it was time that I contributed to the side, the pace at which I batted helped the side to reach a par score," he added.
Earlier, Karthik came in to bat at number five and played a knock of 58 runs from 29 balls. Shubman Gill (57) and Karthik's fifties guided them to 164/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Karthik was adjourned Player of the Match.
"The wicket was slower this time, it was not easy to bat on, most of the batsmen could not get the boundaries too easily, I have always said 160-170 totals produce the best type of the matches, these are great totals. The wickets are producing 160-170 scores and they are far more entertaining than high-scoring matches," Karthik said.
"As a team, we have small areas that we need to work on, it was not our best fielding effort today, we just want to make sure that the processes are right," he added.
KKR will next take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in their next game at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday, October 12.
( With inputs from ANI )
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