Sunil Gavaskar criticized Rajasthan Royals for sending Shimron Hetmyer to bat late in their innings.

On Monday, Kolkata Knight Riders put brakes on their five-match losing streak with a seven-wicket win against RR at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

KKR captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and asked the Royals to bat first. IPL 2022 Orange cap holder Jos Buttler managed 22 runs in 25 balls before holing out to Shivam Mavi off Tim Southee’s bowling after the powerplay.

RR skipper Sanju Samson scored 54 in 49 balls at a below-par strike rate of 110.2 to provide impetus after the loss of openers.

Gavaskar wasn’t pleased with RR team management to hold back Hetmyer for the slog overs. The former Indian captain reckoned West Indies flamboyant player’s promotion in the batting order.

“People get these labels. ‘Finisher’. It means you have to come only in 14th or 15th over, that’s not right. The man is in form, even if a wicket falls in the 11th over, get him out there,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports during the innings break.

Nitish Rana’s unbeaten 48 anchored the chase while Rinku Singh’s 23-ball 42-run cameo helped KKR overhaul the moderate score with five balls to spare. Early in the game, KKR bowlers bowled well to restrict their formidable opponents to a below-par score. Southee picked a couple of wickets while Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, and Anukul Roy picked one wicket each.

Tags :IPL 2022Sunil GavaskarShimron HetmyerSanju Samson