My plan was to bat through the end: Shreyas Iyer

Despite a valiant knock from skipper Shreyas Iyer, Kolkata Knight Riders lost by 7 runs against Rajasthan Royals, extending their losing run to 4 games this season. Iyer batted till the 17th over, genuinely coming close to scoring a century but as soon as he was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal, a spree started.  A dejected Iyer disclosed that his plan was to bat till the end, letting the batter at the other end try and hit Chahal from the other end.

“I think from the start we got, we really were going well according to the run-rate. Finchy was good but once he was out, we slowed down a bit. We lacked a bit over there, but it's a part of the game. Unfortunately, we couldn't click. My plan was to bat through the end, the opposite batsman had to take it on from ball one. The matchup Rana had was with Chahal. He did not time that and it happens,” Iyer said in the post-game interview with Star Sports.

It was runs galore at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai as Jos Buttler scored his second century of the season to guide the Royals to 217. KKR bowlers had no clue to Buttler’s incredible batting prowess, which was further highlighted by the lack of control from senior pro Pat Cummins. 

“He [Buttler] started a bit slow and after that he just went off. The way he maneuvers the ball, he is a classy batsman. Kudos to the way he batted. If we had got him out early, the scoreboard would've looked very different. Dew didn't play a big role tonight. Amazing wicket to bat on. Unfortunately, Brabourne hasn't been great for us. Hopefully, we will come back hard in the coming games,” the Mumbaikar added.

On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson believes that the quality of players in both teams made the game interesting. He further applauded Ravichandran Ashwin for the delivery that dismissed Andre Russell while singling out Obed McCoy for keeping his calm in the death overs.

"It got tensed. The quality of players made it very interesting. Very happy for the win. There are some things that need to used at the right time. You need to be smart enough to slow it down. I respect KKR as a unit. We never thought we were in the game. 

"I think I don't need to talk much about individuals. We are lucky to have great players. Special mention to Ashwin for his delivery to Russell. And McCoy is an interesting guy. He doesn't talk much but seems to be in control over his bowling skills," Samson concluded.