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Cricket PlayersVirender Sehwag questions Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik's approach after KKR's 'shameful defeat' against MI in IPL 2021
IPL 2021: Virender Sehwag questioned KKR batsmen Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik's approach after they failed to score 31 runs off 28 balls against Mumbai Indians in Chennai on Tuesday.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag questioned the batting approach of experienced finishers Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik after they failed to take Kolkata Knight Riders over the line when they need 31 runs off 28 balls against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021 match No. 5 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Despite dominating the game for 35 overs, KKR choked in the the final stages and lost to Mumbai Indians by 10 runs. KKR were still in control when they lost set batsman Nitish Rana and Shakib Al Hasan in quick succession. Two of their most trusted finishers Russell and Karthik had joined hands with the required rate being just above a run-a-ball but thanks to some bizarre batting and brilliant bowling from MI bowlers, KKR fell short of the target.
Russell scored 9 off 15 balls while Karthik was unbeaten on 8 off 11 balls with no boundaries to his name.
Sehwag said Russell and Karthik wanted to stay there till the end but could not finish the game.
“Eoin Morgan had given a statement that they will play that way (with postive intent) after the first game but it didn't look like that when Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik came in to bat. The way Russell and Karthik batted, it felt like they planned to take the game till the end and win it. But that didn’t happen. The batters who came before them – be it Shakib Al Hasan, Eoin Morgan, Shubman Gill or Nitish Rana – all of them played with positive intent,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag also added that either Rana or Gill should have stayed there till the end to close out the match for KKR.
"Either Rana or Gill should have batted till the end. They had seen what had happened in the MI innings, despite getting off to a good start they could only manage 152," he said.
In pursuit of a 153-run target, KKR were on the course of a sensational win with 122 for 4 in the 15th over. However, the MI bowlers turned the table and restricted Eoin Morgan & Co to 142 for 7.
The likes of Rahul Chahar, Krunal Pandya and Trent Boult dominated in the death overs as KKR managed just 20 runs the last thirty deliveries.
Sehwag further added that KKR explained how to lose a game from a winning a position.
“Kolkata Knight Riders just lost the game which was almost won at one stage. When Russell came into bat, KKR needed 30 runs in 27-odd balls. Dinesh Karthik batted till the end but couldn’t win the game. That’s a shameful defeat,” he said.
“The runs per ball difference wasn’t much except for the last couple of overs. We saw how to lose a game that is almost won. You hardly get any game where you are chasing 152 and you need to score 36-odd runs in 6 overs with 6-7 wickets in hand. In such scenarios, teams prefer to end the game quickly to improve their net run rate. But KKR failed to do that and hampered their net-run rate,” he added.
Former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja opined that this defeat will affect KKR in the later stages of IPL 2021.
“This is not just a loss; it’ll act a shock to KKR in the later stages. It will hit them mentally and will need some outstanding performance to come out of that,” said Jadeja.
