KKR won’t change opening pair: Boult
kolkata — There will be no change in the opening order of the Kolkata Knight Riders, fast bowler Trent Boult said after their nine-run defeat to Mumbai Indians in an IPL encounter on Saturday.
Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine have opened for the men in purple since Lynn has been fit to play after being out for a month with shoulder injury.
But Narine faced just four balls chasing 174, with Tim Southee taking the West Indian’s wicket for a duck.
“It’s the formula we have followed throughout the tournament. It was about Narine and Lynn trying to put pressure on the opposition,” Boult said at the post-match press conference on Saturday night.
KKR made a mess of their run chase as none of the batsmen managed to deliver.
Manish Pandey (33) was the highest scorer and looked the only sensible player on the pitch as the hosts threw the game away after being 53/3 at the end of powerplay overs.
“The powerplay is a big phase of the game. It has come off very well for us in other games. I don’t think there’s any need to change the formula. It was just unfortunate that it did not work out tonight,” Boult said.
“In this format, momentum is a big thing obviously. You would like to win as many games as you can. Unfortunately, it did not pan out our way,” the New Zealand pacer said.
“We had hurdles in the last couple of games. We know we have to play good cricket from now on. Every game is a tough game. It’s a must-win game for us now. The pressure is on us to deliver. Unfortunately we ran out of luck,” he added.
Boult said the wicket was twopaced and the opposition team bowled really well. —