Visakhapatnam, April 4 After Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered a massive 106-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) to maintain their unbeaten run in IPL 2024, captain Shreyas Iyer said his initial assessment was 210-220 would be fine, but his side making 272 was icing on the cake.
Sunil Narine (85), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (54), Andre Russell (41) and Rinku Singh (26) produced blistering fireworks in carrying KKR to a gigantic 272/2, which is also the second-highest total in IPL's history.
On a placid Visakhapatnam pitch, KKR produced two hours of sensational carnage by hitting 22 fours and 18 sixes. In return, bowlers produced a collective effort to bowl out DC for 166 in 17.2 overs. It’s also the first time that KKR have started an IPL season with three consecutive wins, setting themselves as potential title contenders.
"To be honest, the way we were at the start, maybe we'd reach around 210-220, but 270 (272/7) was icing on the cake. Sunny's (Narine's) job is to go out there and free his arms and see to it that he gets us a great powerplay.
"Even if he doesn't, we've got other batters who can basically take on the bowlers and see to it that we get a commendable total by the end of the powerplay. So that is the mindset, to keep intent strong and taking on the bowlers," said Iyer after the match ended.
Asked about Raghuvanshi’s knock, where he got his maiden IPL fifty, Iyer said, "He was fearless from ball one. When you see him, his work ethic is phenomenal. He is top notch in analysing situations and he is a smart batsman when it comes to reading the situation. The way he played and the shots were literally pleasing to the eye."
Narine, who became the Player of the Match, said getting that big NRR boost for KKR (which now stands at 2.528) is also something he was keeping an eye on. "Cricket is all about batting, so if you can contribute with the bat, as an individual it's more pleasing. But I still enjoy my bowling.
"On a good wicket like that, trying to keep it as tight as possible, to try and win with a bigger margin so it can help our run rate later on in the tournament," he concluded.
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