Sports News | KKR Head Coach Admits Team Missed Varun Against RCB; Reveals Spinner Has a Fracture

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 14 (ANI): Following Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), head coach Abhishek Nayar said that the team missed the combination of spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, with the former missing out due to a niggle.

A Virat Kohli chase masterclass helped RCB go to the top of the table, securing the Red and Gold side their eighth win of the season in 12 matches, while pushing KKR closer to elimination. Chasing 193, Virat paced the innings with perfection, playing out spin with safety and feasting on Vaibhav Arora's pace. Varun, who had taken 10 wickets in the past five games to script a solid comeback, watched from the sidelines.

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Speaking during the post-match presser, Nayar said that he feels rain before the match did not play much of a part.

"The pitch was good through and through, anytime there is a bit of rain, the first few overs, you expect the ball to swing and seem a bit, which happened, but I still felt we got enough runs on the board, because midway when we had that discussion, we felt anywhere between 180-200 would be a good score," he said.

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"The Varun Chakravarthy part, we have done really well with the Sunny (Narine) and Varun combo, it is unfortunate that we have missed him a lot this season, it is the second time around where he has got a fracture, which is unfortunate for him, but you will always miss a Varun Chakraborty, we know the quality of Sunny and Varun bowling together, so it's hard to replace a Varun," he added.

Nayar said that the team's scoring was fine on the Raipur surface, but dropping Virat's catch in the initial stages of his innings cost KKR.

"We all know that if you leave Virat Kohli's catch, it will be difficult, especially when he is chasing, so there are a lot of things that could have been better. But when you are playing good cricket with a team like this, and Virat Kohli and (Devdutt) Padikkal are in good form, and you want to take their catches in that time, so it is unfortunate, in the game, these things happen, Virat's catch was very sharp, he was very close, and you expect Vaibhav to take the catch, but it is one of those things, you reflect on it, and you say that if I had taken the catches, it could have been different," he added.

He also defended pacer Vaibhav Arora's spell of 0/48 in four overs, which started with him getting hit for four boundaries by Virat in the second over, saying that the team felt that his experienced hands could do the job and dismiss Virat.

"In the last few matches, he made a very good comeback. The defensive bowler you need in T20s, Vaibhav, is that kind of player. He has experience, he has played a lot in IPL, and you want him to bowl against Virat Kohli, we thought at that time that Vaibhav could do that for us," he said.

In 11 matches, Vaibhav, functioning as the Indian leader of KKR's pace attack in the absence of Harshit Rana, has taken 11 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 35.45, with best figures of 2/24.

The head coach also hailed Angkrish Raghuvanshi's knock, saying that he batted well in tough overs when the ball was nipping around and there was help for pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood.

"I think today I was very impressed with the way he batted, because the ball was really nipping around initially, with all the rain around, there was a lot of help, Hazlewood and Bhuvi obviously world class bowlers, hitting the length, but I felt he was tactically very smart and astute, played square of the wicket, used the angles really well, picked his bowlers," he said.

"I think he paced his innings really well, he at any point did not really feel that he was uncomfortable, he belonged there, and that was something that really stood out for me, because there were bigger boundaries, you compare both the teams, we hit more sixes than them, which is very rarely something you see with RCB, with the amount of power they have," he added.

In 11 matches, Raghuvanshi has made 340 runs in 11 matches at an average of 34.00, with a strike rate of 139.34, including four fifties and a best score of 71.

RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first, reducing KKR to 48/2. It was knocks from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (71* in 46 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) and Rinku Singh (49* in 32 balls, with three fours and two sixes) which took KKR to 192/4 in 20 overs.

Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a wicket each.

During the chase, Virat lost his opening partner, Jacob Bethell (15), early once again, but a 92-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal (39 in 27 balls, with seven fours) kept RCB above the required run-rate. Towards the end, it was Virat all over KKR as RCB chased down the total in 19.1 overs with six wickets in hand.

RCB is back to the top of the table, with eight wins and four losses, giving them 16 points. On the other hand, KKR, which was on a four-match unbeaten streak after six winless matches (spanning five losses and a no result), face a massive dent to their playoff chances, making their final three matches a must-win affair. (ANI)

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