Rana, who played an unbeaten 48, chased down 153 at the wicket of the Wankhede at a slow pace as KKR beat RR by seven wickets.
Rana, who played an unbeaten 48, chased down 153 at the wicket of the Wankhede at a slow pace as KKR beat RR by seven wickets.
Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Nitish Rana said that after playing for many years in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he is now trying to play the role of an anchor, which was on full display against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai.
Rana, who played an unbeaten 48, chased down 153 for the wicket of the Wankhede at a slow pace as KKR beat RR by seven wickets on Monday to break their five-match losing streak.
“A lot of things depend on factors like an opposition team and what target we are chasing and what number I am batting at. I have been playing IPL for seven-eight years now and the performance of the anchor or the main player am trying to do
“I have been successful so far and hope to play more such innings for the team in the coming matches,” Rana said at the post-match press conference.
“… I am trying to bat in whatever role the team is giving me according to the match situation. Today I had to play the role of anchor.
“I knew if I was at one end, things would have been easier for us with players like Rinku, Andre Russell and Anukul (Roy). So we had depth in the batting but I had to play my part so that We can chase the target easily.” Rana also heaped praise on young Rinku Singh, who played an unbeaten 42 off 23 balls.
He said his efforts to pacify a “hyper” Rinku paid rich dividends for KKR.
“I am very happy with the way he (Rinku) batted as I have known him for 5-6 years and he has worked a lot, scoring in every domestic season. The way he is batting. Well, I knew he would do something big for our team once we got a chance,” Rana said.
“When he came to bat, I tried to calm him down because I know he is a little hyper and told him (if) we bat, we can finish the game in any over. I Very happy for him and hope he will continue to bat for KKR and himself.” Rana also took a dig at his critics, who have questioned KKR’s team selection. “In our view, we have the best XI, maybe outsiders think we are not. We won comfortably without any big players. If we win like this, any eleven is the best.”
RR’s Kumar Sangakkara laments the lack of runs
Rajasthan Royals director of cricket Kumara Sangakkara lamented the batsman’s inability to score big runs behind the team’s loss in the last two matches.
“Two scratch games and we didn’t get enough runs on the board. In Mumbai (Indian Games) we were 130 with four overs, should have been 170. Today we just got a little stuck in the middle,” he said.
“Sanju (Samson) batted well and Hetty (Shimron Hetmyer) at the back end brought us some respect. The bowlers in both games did their best to play in the last over, but a lot more to think about to improve There’s a lot. As we go into that next game.”