Published: May 17, 2016, 10:39 AM (IST)
Edited: May 18, 2016, 11:14 AM (IST)
After the conclusion of the match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Shakib al Hasan expressed his disappointment over the loss and stated that his team couldn’t have done much as RCB batted well. He stated, “The quality they have, I don’t think we could have done much. We tried everything but they played better cricket.” Lamenting on the fact that they had plans for every batsmen, he further added in the post match conference, “We had plans for every single batsmen but if plans worked always, no batsman will score runs. Bowlers try to execute, the fielders try to back them but the batsmen find a way. They batted really well.” FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2016, Match 48 at Kolkata
The loss dents Knight Riders’ chances of finishing in top 2 as they now need to win both their remaining clashes against Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad to have two chances of making it to this year’s finals. According to cricbuzz.com, speaking on the importance of finishing on top, Shakib said, “We all know that finishing in the top 2 helps a lot. If you finish third or fourth, it’s a little difficult. Every match is important. Today’s loss is, of course, a setback but we have enough quality to come back.”
The track that was used in this game was the same one that offered plenty of help to the spinners in the last fixture between Knight Riders and Rising Puner Supergiants. However, on Monday, that was missing. Shakib expressed his disappointment at not getting ‘home advantage’ this season as they are a spin-dependent team.
“We always expect the track to spin but that hasn’t happened yet so far. It’s disappointing but there’s no point blaming the pitch,” he said. “We haven’t done well at home this time. It was a very good wicket to bat on. There was a bit of turn but only when you bowled slowly. There wasn’t much for the spinners”, said the dejected all-rounder after their 9-wicket loss to RCB.
