IPL 2021: Virender Sehwag brands KKR's loss to MI as 'shameful'
Virender Sehwag has questioned Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell's batting approach following the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) 10-run loss to the Mumbai Indians on Tuesday. The former India opener also branded KKR's loss as 'shameful'.
Chasing 153 for victory, Kolkata were 122-4 after 15 overs. However, they could only manage 20 runs in their final five overs and lost the game by 10 runs. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Virender Sehwag said:
“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."
Sehwag was also critical of Karthik and Russell's batting as he felt the duo should have looked to finish the game early.
"Eoin Morgan had given a statement that they will play that way (with postive 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," Sehwag added.
Andre Russell had contrasting fortunes with bat and ball. The all-rounder took a five-for, despite bowling just two overs. However, he looked woefully out of touch with the bat, as he could only manage 9 off 15 balls.
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Dinesh Karthik, on the other hand, remained unbeaten on 8 off 11 deliveries, failing to hit any boundaries when KKR needed them the most.
Eoin Morgan reacts to KKR's defeat
Eoin Morgan was disappointed with KKR's collapse and acknowledged that his side made a few mistakes.
"It’s disappointing. A lot of the time, we played good cricket, certainly the first half and a majority of the chase. We made mistakes; hopefully, we can iron them out. Mumbai are a very good side," Morgan said.
KKR have now lost 22 of their 28 IPL encounters against the Mumbai Indians. The Kolkata-based franchise will next be in action against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 18.
KKR, who started their IPL 2021 campaign with a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, will be keen to return to winning ways against the RCB.