IPL 2017: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to stick with same opening pair in playoffs, confirms Trent Boult

"It's the formula we have followed throughout the IPL 2017. It was about Narine and Lynn trying to put pressure on the opposition," said Trent Boult.

Fighting for the second spot of the table, former champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fell short of a win by just nine runs against fellow former champions Mumbai Indians (MI), in match 54 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 at the historic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday. With this loss, KKR missed out on the opportunity to play the Qualifier 1 in the playoffs, and would now be playing the Eliminator instead. In one of the reasons of KKR’s defeat on Saturday was the failure of the opening pair —Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine. However, KKR’s fast bowler Trent Boult confirmed that they are not panicking and would stick with the same opening pair in the playoffs. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Mumbai Indians (M), IPL 2017, Match 54 at Kolkata

“It’s the formula we have followed throughout the tournament. It was about Narine and Lynn trying to put pressure on the opposition. The Powerplay is a big phase of the game. It has come off very well for us in other games. I don’t think there’s any need to change the formula. It was just unfortunate that it did not work out tonight. In this format, momentum is a big thing obviously. You would like to win as many games as you can. Unfortunately, it did not pan out our way,” said Boult, as reported by PTI. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Mumbai Indians (M), IPL 2017, Match 54 at Kolkata

“We had hurdles in the last couple of games. We know we have to play good cricket from now on. Every game is a tough game. It’s a must-win game for us now. The pressure is on us to deliver. Unfortunately we ran out of luck. There was a little bit of variation and bounce. The luxury of bowling second is you can put the pressure on the opposition, claim wickets and make it very hard for the team to chase a decent total,” he added. IPL 2017: We have to pull up our socks in playoffs says Gautam Gambhir

“We probably did not bat well enough, first of all. But I thought they bowled really well on a two-paced wicket. It’s disappointing to lose no matter which team it is. It’s a quality opposition and they can afford the luxury of moving a few players around and try a few combination. They delivered under pressure,” he continued.

Finally, speaking on his comeback match against Mumbai Indians (MI), after a few weeks gap, Boult said, “I was nice to be off few weeks. It’s hard to push into the side with only four having the chance to make the playing eleven. I enjoyed been out there tonight and contributing to the side. We have a lot of quality in the group.”

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