KKR vs SRH: 'We need to bowl better' — Kolkata captain Nitish Rana after 23-run defeat

Kolkata Knight Riders suffered their second defeat of the ongoing IPL 2023 on Friday against Sunrisers Hyderabad after their bowlers ended up conceding 228 in the first innings. After beating Gujarat Titans in the last game with Rinku Singh smashing five sixes off the last five balls in the match, KKR were expecting another encore but poor bowling performance on the day played the damper.

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Harry Brook smashed 55-ball 100 not out for SRH and skipper Aiden Markram scored 50 off 26 to post a 229-run target. All KKR bowlers had an economy rate of over 10 except Sunil Narine who gave away 28 in four overs at the rate of 7. Umesh Yadav was hit for 42 in 3 overs, while Lockie Ferguson gave away 37 in just 2 overs.

Despite a mammoth target in front of them, KKR gave a strong fight scoring 205 as they lost by 23 runs. KKR skipper Nitish Rana scored 75 off 41, while Rinku smashed 58 off 31.

Read | Brook ‘glad’ to shut Indian fans

Rana later acknowledged that Eden Gardens track is a high-scoring pitch but rued the fact that his bowlers conceded 228 runs and asked them to improve in that area.

“I feel the way we bowled was not according to the plans. No matter what the wicket was like, this wasn’t a 230 wicket. One odd day you’ll get an innings like Rinku had the other day, but not every day.” he said after the match.

“We batted really well, we wanted to take the game deep and then you never know. Home advantage is one thing, but we know Eden Gardens tracks always play this way, we expected 200 to be a par score here and have been preparing that way, but we need to bowl better. Today, even the main bowlers were going for runs but I can’t be too critical because these are the same bowlers who will win me a game some other time.”

In Photos: Brook’s 100 helps SRH defeat KKR by 23 runs

Rana was happy with the chase and the way KKR fought despite the daunting target.

“Very happy with the fight we showed but would have loved it more if we got two points as well.”

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