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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane reflected on his side's defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Wednesday, acknowledging the impact of drop catches of Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal.
He noted that Kohli remains a dangerous batter in a chase, and also praised Devdutt Padikkal for his strong form in the tournament. Rahane emphasised that dropped catches had hurt KKR but stressed that such errors are part of the game despite the team's hard work. He also singled out Kartik Tyagi for his positive attitude and clear mindset, saying his execution and commitment with the ball have been encouraging signs for the team. "Yes, and I mean, Virat, we all know that while chasing the total, he is a dangerous player. Anyway, he's a dangerous player, but Devdutt Padikkal is batting really well in this tournament. So, taking those catches, that's what really helped us in the last four matches. But these things have happened. The guys are working really hard, but you can drop catches. That's okay. (About Kartik Tyagi) He's been really good for us, working really hard. What I like about him is his clear mindset, what he wants to execute while bowling. And that's a really great sign," Rahane said after the match. Despite chasing a competitive target of 193, Kohli's (105* including 11 fours and three sixes) century and Devdutt Padikkal's 39 helped RCB to an easy six-wicket win, with five balls remaining. KKR dropped each of Kohli and Padikkal. Kohli was dropped by Rovman Powell off Kartik Tyagi's bowling, while Vaibhav Arora put down a sitter of Padikkal off Cameron Green. Rahane felt that 192 was actually a competitive total on the Raipur pitch, crediting KKR's middle-order batters, saying it was a very good effort by them. "I mean, we thought 190 was actually a competitive total on that wicket. The batters who batted in the middle, those middle overs, they thought it was a very good total. You can always say that after the game, 10-15 runs here and there, but I thought it was a very good effort by the batters," he added. The defending champions jump to the top of the points table with this clinical chase, courtesy Kohli's unbeaten hundred. KKR's 4-match winning streak has ended, and their playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. (ANI)
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