"He was unpredictable" - Rohan Gavaskar on Nitish Rana's captaincy in SRH vs KKR clash
Rohan Gavaskar believes that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Nitish Rana did a fine job during the team's IPL 2023 encounter against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, May 4.
The former cricketer emphasized that Rana was very unpredictable with his decisions, which worked in his favor on a few occasion. Gavaskar also lauded the KKR skipper for handing the ball to Varun Chakravarthy when SRH needed nine runs from the final over.
Speaking to Cricbuzz after Kolkata's five-run victory, Rohan Gavaskar stated:
"You can't really complain about his [Nitish Rana's] captaincy. He did the job that was expected of him. To defend 170, I thought it was an excellent effort. He was unpredictable, and sometimes it works in your favour and sometimes it doesn't.
"To have that confidence in Varun Chakravarthy and give him the 18th and 20th over, let's not forget that Nitish Rana is an inexperienced captain at this level. He could have been forgiven to have said, 'Sunil Narine, you've got a couple of overs left and you've got the experience, here's the ball'. But no, he went with the form bowler."
Another nail-biting finish in IPL 2023 🔥
📸: IPL
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Nitish Rana's gamble of giving Chakravarthy the last over ahead of the likes of Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur paid off. The crafty spinner conceded just three runs, helping his team successfully defend the 172-run target.
"It's a bit of a lottery" - Shaun Pollock on KKR's remaining home matches of IPL 2023
During the aforementioned discussion, former South African pacer Shaun Pollock emphasized that KKR were a force to reckon with at home when the surface would assist their spin attack.
Pollock mentioned that it has changed this time around, as teams have been able to post over 200 runs at the venue, elaborating:
"I think they are just going to try and pick the best side to win on the day. The real challenge is that their success, if we look back at the years, was based on a surface in Kolkata that really suited their personnel well.
"They've got the three home games there, but it's a bit of a lottery because it has been such a good surface there that people are posting 200. In the old days, it was like 130 or 140, and Narine could almost make sure they didn't get over the line."
Updated Points table after match no. 47 of IPL 2023 🏏
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With four victories from ten games, KKR are currently placed eighth in the points table. Kolkata are set to take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Eden Gardens on Monday, May 8.