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Former Australia captain Aaron Finch opined that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have "only themselves to blame" after rain washed away their last shot at defending their coveted title on Saturday.
Kolkata had to live up to the expectations of its past after key changes in the hierarchy of the three-time champions. The Knight Riders were rustic, fabricated wins in patches, and endured losing streaks that left them tottering in must-win territory. Team mentor Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer embarked on new journeys. The Knight Riders had a huge gap to fill and brought in Dwayne Bravo and Ajinkya Rahane to fill the void by taking on the roles of mentor and skipper, respectively. Despite the new additions, Kolkata couldn't maintain its winning formula and eventually crashed out of the playoff race. With two fixtures left, the defending champions had to conjure up a win over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who have sung in harmony throughout the season. The weather gods intervened way before the fixture's allotted time and pelted down heavily to wash out the entire fixture. With just a solitary point, KKR's title defence met its impending bitter end. Finch traced down factors contributing to KKR's downfall and felt the demotion of "match-winner" Andre Russell denied him the opportunity to influence the game's flow. "It didn't start well for them. Andre Russell, being the match-winner that he is and has been for such a long time, was batting too far down the order for much of the tournament. He simply wasn't given the opportunities to influence games the way he can," Finch said on JioHotstar. The 38-year-old former top-order batter reflected on the manner of KKR's defeat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Kolkata, who had found their groove with two victories on the trot, surrendered to a two-wicket defeat, courtesy of the finishing touches applied by Chennai captain MS Dhoni. For Finch, it echoed one of the several moments where his former side just didn't click. "They've only got themselves to blame. They almost kicked themselves after that last game against CSK - it was theirs to win. The match was almost wrapped up, and they still couldn't cross the line, which turned out to be an incredible win for Chennai. Throughout the season, there were too many moments where KKR just didn't click," he added. (ANI)
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