Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Shreyas Iyer heaped praise on newly unearthed star Rinku Singh for his excellent batting effort against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Monday, May 2. Rinku scored an unbeaten 42 off just 23 balls to help his team to a crucial seven-wicket victory that kept his side in the hunt for a playoff spot. His 66-run partnership with Nitish Rana took Kolkata over the line with five balls to spare.
Sharing his thoughts on the win after the game, Shreyas claimed that Rinku’s ability to keep calm in tough situations is outstanding and he is a huge asset for the franchise of the future. "I was talking to my teammates in the dressing room and was like, the way he's maintaining his calm even in such pressure situations playing his second or third game, it's outstanding. Building that partnership with Nitish Rana in that situation is something we have to praise and he's a great asset for the future of the franchise. The way he has given starts right from the first game, he doesn't look like a newcomer in the team,” he said.
The skipper also lauded KKR's bowling attack, who are in excellent form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season, “The way he's bowling those hard lengths, he's increased his pace definitely. It's really tough to bat against him in the nets. He's got a set of plans which is really hard to read. As a captain, you just have to give him the ball and he's always up to execute things,” Iyer said about his Indian speedster, Umesh Yadav.
Although a win was what the team needed to stay in the competition, Iyer believes that KKR needs to improve at the top of the order as the middle order will not always save his team. Iyer said that the openers will need to show up in the remaining matches if KKR are to be in contention for the playoffs this season. Currently, KKR are placed seventh on the IPL table, with eight points from 10 matches.
