We Are Not Going to Chicken Out: Proud KKR Captain Shreyas Iyer Sounds Warning to Other Franchises After Loss Against RCB

Mumbai: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer said that he is proud of the way his team played against Royal Challengers Bangalore, even more so after they took the match till the last over, adding that they way they tried to defend a low-score, it will only go on to reflect their mentality in the next few games.

“I really found this game exciting. Before getting in, I spoke with my boys and told them that this game is going to define our character and attitude on the field no matter we defend or not. The way we fight it on the ground, that is really going to reflect our mentality in the next few games. I am really proud of the way we played this game and took it till the last over,” said Iyer after the match.

RCB were in a spot of bother after losing their top-order in paltry chase of 129 but managed to get over the line, thanks to spme smart batting from Sherfane Rutherford and Shahbaz Ahmed along with Dinesh Karthik whose little cameo sealed the match for Faf du Plessis-led side,

“It was really tough at that moment because I wanted to get my best bowlers up there and get a few wickets early on but it didn’t work out really well. Kudos to their batsmen, they played really well out in the middle. They took out the toughest phase as soon as possible,” said the KKR captain while speaking about how RCB strategised their chase.

“In the end, I decided to go with Venky because he’s also got really good experience bowling at international level and you need to back them especially at the start of the tournament. It’s really important they gain confidence as early as possible and this was one of the best games to get that,” he added.

“We are going to come back with the same mindset, we are not going to chicken out. That’s what we want to focus on and that’s what we spoke about coming into the tournament that we’ll be someone who’d be taking risks. Next time when we come, we need to rectify the errors and see to it that we get the momentum as early as possible,” said the newly appointed KKR captain.

“He (Wanindu Hasaranga) bowled really well, he got off to a good start after getting my wicket. I was able to read him pretty well at the start. We had decided that we’ll play him as an off-spinner but unfortunately he bowled really good lines and lengths. He’s also very experienced and he was getting some help on this wicket. Congratulations to him,” Iyer signed off.