Former Indian batsmen Virender Sehwag criticised Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russel after the designated KKR finishers failed to take their team home against Mumbai Indians in match 5 of IPL 2021. KKR lost the game by 10 runs with them needing 31 to win from the final five overs. Karthik was unbeaten on 8 off 11 deliveries while Russell scored nine of 15 deliveries before being dismissed by Trent Boult.
Virender Sehwag criticised the intent with which Russell and Karthik played in the final five overs. Shubman Gill (33) and Nitish Rana (57) added a 72-run opening stand chasing 153 to win. However, the side lost the plot after the stand was broken. KKR lost their last six wickets for just 56 runs before Mumbai close the game and won by 10 runs, This loss extends Kolkata’s losing streak to 11 defeats in the last 12 games with the latest of them coming in Chennai.
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“Eoin Morgan had given a statement that they will play that way (with positive intent) after the first game but it didn’t look like that when Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik came in to bat. The way Russell and Karthik batted, it felt like they planned to take the game till the end and win it. But that didn’t happen. The batters who came before them – be it Shakib Al Hasan, Eoin Morgan, Shubman Gill or Nitish Rana – all of them played with positive intent,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Though it’s the first defeat of the season for the Knight Riders, Sehwag feels it was a ‘shameful defeat’ for Eoin Morgan‘s men.
Shameful Defeat For KKR: Virender Sehwag
“Kolkata Knight Riders just lost the game which was almost won at one stage. When Russell came into bat, KKR needed 30 runs in 27-odd balls. Dinesh Karthik batted till the end but couldn’t win the game. That’s a shameful defeat,” he further said.
KKR face Royal Challengers Bangalore next Sunday as they look to get back to winning ways after a miserable loss against Mumbai Indians.
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