Ajinkya Rahane has come out in defence of his teammates after their costly drops helped Kolkata Knight Riders to register a thumping 7-wicket victory over Rising Pune Supergiant on Wednesday (April 27).
Both Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir rode their luck and slammed their third half-centuries of the ongoing season as they put their team in sight of victory with a 158-run stand before debutant Darren Bravo completed the proceedings with a boundary in the penultimate over.
Chasing an imposing 182, the visitors were in a spot of bother when their newly-found sensation Sunil Narine was run-out for only 16 and they would have found themselves in further mess had Jaydev Unadkat not dropped Uthappa when he was batting on just 12.
Uthappa made full use of the reprieve and hit the top gear soon.He first targeted youngster Washington Sundar, hitting him for a four and consecutive sixes to take 20 runs off his third over. Imran Tahir wasn’t spared either – he was driven down the ground for a six. On the other end, Gambhir looked happy to play the second fiddle.
The two-time champions crossed the 100-run mark inside 10 overs before Washington Sundar dropped Gambhir on 32. The southpaw also capitalised on the reprieve and went on to score 62 while Uthappa scored 87 off just 47 deliveries.
But Rahane was not willing to take anything away from the duo by citing the dropped catches. Praising the Knight Riders’ batsmen, the Supergiant opener insisted that dropped catches are parts and parcel of the game.
“Credit goes to their batsmen. They played really well,” Rahane said at the post-match presser. “That happens on the field. No one drops intentionally. That’s part and parcel of the game. But they batted really well especially Robin after that dropped catch. The way he batted, he was literally dominating our bowlers. They played better than us.”
“After 20 overs, we thought 180 (182) was a good total on this wicket but because of the dew it was slightly difficult for the bowlers,” he added.
Speaking about his batting, he reiterated the fact that he is currently enjoying his batting before adding that he wants to converts his starts into big scores.
“As I mentioned even last night in Mumbai, I am batting really well and feeling really well at the moment. It’s all about converting 40s into 70s-80s, that’s what I am looking for. Unfortunately, I got out for 46. Even in Mumbai I got out for 38. But I am feeling really well at the moment as a batsman. It’s important for the top 2 or 3 batsmen score 70-80 in this format so that the team can do well,” Rahane said.
When asked about his batting approach in the shortest format of the game, the right-handed batsman said he likes to take his time initially before going for the fancy shots.
“I know what my strengths are and I back them. Initially, I was slightly struggling a bit with the timing but I decided I want to play a long inning here. After 10 or 11 overs I will take my chances and that’s what I did. Between 9th and 10th over, we felt 170-180 will be a good score on that wicket.
“I like to take my time and later on capitalise on my starts,” he concluded.