Bengaluru: As defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders were knocked out of contention for a playoff berth after their match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru was washed out, former Australia cricketer Aaron Finch said that the team only got themselves to blame for their elimination.
Saturday’s match was a must-win game for KKR as they needef to win both of their remaining games to reach 15 points and hope for a series of favourable results in other matches, along with a substantial improvement in their net run rate.
After a washout, with only a solitary point the three-time champions now have 12 points from 13 games.
“It didn’t start well for them. Andre Russell, being the match-winner that he is and has been for such a long time, was batting too far down the order for much of the tournament. He simply wasn’t given the opportunities to influence games the way he can. They’ve only got themselves to blame,” Finch said on JioHotstar.
Finch opined that KKR kicked themselves out after their two-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings on May 7. In that match, Batting first, KKR posted 179 for 6, which looked enough on a tacky surface, but CSK dug deep to pick up two points in a season already lost to them, while KKR saw their top-four ambitions taking a dent.
“They almost kicked themselves after that last game against CSK – it was theirs to win. The match was almost wrapped up, and they still couldn’t cross the line, which turned out to be an incredible win for Chennai. Throughout the season, there were too many moments where KKR just didn’t click,” Finch added.
While KKR are out of playoffs race after the washout, RCB now go top of the table having collected one point that takes their tally to 17 from 12 games.
KKR will play Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final league fixture on May 25.
–IANS
