Chasing 207 for a win, RR just fell short, ending up with a score of 205 for eight
A happy and relieved KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane lauded his batting unit for executing their plans in their narrow one-run win over Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, a result that kept them alive in the race for the IPL play-offs. (Highlights | Full Coverage | Schedule | Points Table)
Opting to bat, Kolkata Knight Riders posted 206 for 4, riding on Andre Russell's unbeaten 25-ball 57 and contributions from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (35) and skipper Ajinkya Rahane (30).
Chasing 207 for a win, RR just fell short, ending up with a score of 205 for eight.
"It was really close but really happy, when you win by one or two runs, it gives you a lot of satisfaction," Rahane said at the post-match presentation.
"The partnerships between Gurbaz and me, and Angkrish and Russell were very good. We wanted to go hard in the powerplay and after that the pitch was a bit dry so we wanted to consolidated from overs 7-12 and then our batters could express themselves," he added.
Asked about the importance of fielding, Rahane said, "It's really important, if you can save 10-12 runs on the field it's great. If you can take a couple of good catches and effect a run-out, it makes all the difference."
Player-of-the-Match Russell credited the win to team effort.
"(It's) Total team effort from the guys. We all know the importance of this game. We have four finals and we had to leave everything on the park and that's what we did," Russell said.
The burly West Indian took time to settle down before he started playing the shots.
"When I have a bit of time to go, I wasn't worried about the dot balls because I know I can make up. It was quite a difficult wicket to go start hitting immediately so I thought I'd give it some time. It paid off in the end.
"Rinku also got some boundaries too at the end. The scoreboard is the best indication. Playing so many games, you know who to target, who you can take on.
"When I look at the scorecard and see five overs, I see 30 balls and think if I can face 15 of those balls, with my power I can score 40 off those 15 balls." RR captain Riyan Parag rued that he could not finish off the run chase and got out at a wrong time.
"I was just too sad about myself getting out. Probably a miscalculation from my side, I should have finished it. I think we could have found better options in the last six overs.
"It's a ground where sixes are hit, so I knew I had my boundaries if I stayed. Wicket was gripping a little and I had to pick my battles, but I felt I could have finished it. You've got to be clinical, you've got to be perfect, and we weren't so the consequences are here."
On bowling Madhwal when Russell was early in his innings, Parag said, "I didn't want to bowl bowlers back-to-back, but now it feels like maybe we could have done something else. We've got to give (Russell) credit because he came in, took his time. The way he accelerated was amazing to watch.
"I think they were 120 or 130 and our spinners did really well and maybe we could have cut down their runs, but the game was in our hands. We should have finished this," he said.