Rahane points to spots in KKRS poor IPL finish, promised to get back stronger

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) Kolkata Knight Riders, Captain Ajinkya Rahane, said undermining batting performances by key players such as Rinku Singh and Andre Russell was the main reason for the defending champions’s disappointing eighth place in this IPL season. Rahane said although the bowling unit largely met expectations, the failure of three-four chief fighters derailed their campaign. KKR’s season ended here with a crushing 110 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday. “It’s just that for us as a team was three-four guys out of shape. Where we were shaky at the batting point. As a batting unit, we couldn’t do well,” Rahane said during the media interaction after the game. ‘Unfortunately, two-three players went through the phase for us. And that was why we couldn’t do well … but again they were quite experienced enough to deal with this situation. ‘ I am sure they will come back stronger next year … Rinku (Singh), Raman (Ramandeep Singh), all the players, they will learn from the mistakes and come back strongly. Rinku (29.42), and Ramandeep (9.40), who played key roles in KKR’s 2024 title triumph, did not repeat their form on Sunday, and the team’s prospects led a massive 278/3-third-highest on the decline of Heinrich Klaasen’s 37-Bally. KKR for 168. Earlier setbacks such as the loss of Punjab kings, while chasing just 112, and a four-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants, while they were 239 years old. We had our moments. We had our chances and I said that we did not play well during the games, as a unit, earlier, “Rahane said.” But again, this format, that’s how it goes, you know … The Punjab Kings game, LSG game and also the CSK game, I thought the two-three games could have been slightly different. “It’s not easy if you win a championship, and you know, next season, defend the championship, it’s not that easy. As a team we have tried our best. What I can say is that we will come back much stronger next year.” Rahane said the pressure of expectations could have affected the performance of the Batters. ‘If you have some good seasons, as an individual, you put a lot of expectation on yourself. You put pressure on yourself. And I feel that this was the case for most of the fighters, to prove that you know that how good I am. And it’s totally natural. ‘ I’m sure our players will learn from the mistakes. It’s a lot to learn from this season as a team. Not for a particular individual, but for all. So much learn from this season. “Iyer kry Rahane se ondersteuning ================== Een van die grootste praatpunte was KKR se besluit om Venkatesh Iyer weer te onderteken om die reg te laat pas om hom vry te laat, teen ‘n stewige speler. ‘Iemand gaan nie dubbel harder werk as hy £ 20 plus crore kry of iemand nie minder harder sal werk as hy een, twee, drie crore kry nie, wat dit ook al is. “… Jou Attitude does not change on the field. You know, that’s what’s important. As a player, you only focus on the controllable things. And I felt that Venkatesh Iyer was actually focusing on the controllable things, “he argues.” Praise for the bowlers ================ Rahane praised the bowling unit for his consistency during the entire season, with the performances of Harshit Rana, Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora and veteran Sunil Narine. Bowlers who played, their thinking was really clear, ‘he said.