Mumbai, April 29 (PTI) New Zealand pacer Tim Southee, speaking on Kolkata Knight Riders’ struggle with his opening pair in batting, said that chopping and changing is not ideal but the team is still trying to find the right combination in the ongoing IPL. KKR have used four different starting combinations in this edition but to no avail as the team suffered their fifth consecutive loss on Thursday night and finished seventh in the points table.
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“It’s tough when you don’t get the win you wanted. After a big auction, we are still trying to find the right combination,” said Saudi during the post-match press conference on KKR’s loss to Delhi Capitals Said after.
“We have tried some opening combinations and there are no bad players in the IPL, they are all class acts. Those who have opened also have pure orbit. So, it’s just about the people who are looking for the form and running with the people who have found the form.
“Cutting and changing nature isn’t ideal, but it happens when you’re not winning a lot of games.”
If Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer opened in their first five matches, KKR used three different combinations in their last four matches with Sunil Narine, Aaron Finch and Sam Billings.
Tough start but I was in form: Powell
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West Indies all-rounder Rovman Powell said it was a tough start for him in the IPL but he relied on the hard work he put in before the competition.
Powell played an unbeaten 16-ball 33 on Thursday to help DC chase down a target of 147 in the 19th over.
“Yeah, it was a tough start, but I was in form. In the early part of the season, I was going out for one ball, two balls and things like that,” said the 28-year-old, who scored just 31 runs in the first five games of this season.
He said, ‘When you get those innings, they don’t tell whether you are a good player or a bad player. The team – the captain, the coach – rallied around me, and told me I would play all games. ‘So just relax, just to play cricket and enjoy it’.
“I didn’t have the best start in the competition, but I have confidence in everything I’ve done before the IPL.”
With Umesh Yadav taking three for 24, DC had slipped to 84 for 4 in 11 overs, but Powell said he was confident of the chase.
“It was a simple position that requires you to play singles early. Once you get the singles early, the boundary balls will always be coming. This situation was not that difficult. I played it well,” Powell, who was bought for Rs 2.8 crore, said.
He said, ‘He threw his best bowlers early to try to get us out. Once we are not out, you know some temporary bowlers in the back-end will come and bowl…”
In DC’s previous outing against Rajasthan Royals, Powell had threatened to pull off a robbery, hitting a 15-ball 36 with five sixes, three of which were hit in successive deliveries in the last over.
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