CHENNAI: Backing its players and trying out new faces has helped Kolkata Knight Riders bounce back and defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad in style in the IPL at the UAE.
Against Mumbai in their previous game, KKR looked out of sorts and confused, but instead of waiting for things to happen, the KKR think-tank made things happen and thus were rewarded with two points.
"You see it is refreshing to see KKR make changes at once and try to press for a win. They made a couple of changes, backed their key players and the results were there for all to see. It was good job by Dinesh Karthik and Co,'' said former India bowler Tinu Yohannan.
Pat Cummins came in for lot of criticism for his insipid show against Mumbai. But KKR think-tank backed him to do well.
"One odd day doesn't mean you are a bad bowler. Cummins bowled really well in this (Hyderabad) game. He bowled better lines and lengths and got the odd ball to move. It is nice to have him and Sunil open the attack,'' opined Yohannan.
KKR has always backed youngsters and this has helped them evolve as a team and bag two titles. "The fact that we have been able to groom the youngsters is pleasing. It has been an emotional journey for us with Nagarkotti over the last couple of years. But credit to the management to have stuck to him. It feels good to see the youngsters doing well. I want Gill to enjoy his journey in cricket," said Karthik, captain of KKR.
Yohannan too agrees with Karthik and insists that teams must have the right balance of experience and youth.
"You see one of the reasons for KKR to do well is that they have a quality pool of Indian youngsters in their ranks. Nagarkotti and Varun Chakravarthy were drafted into the side. Varun gave a good account of himself. This outing will give him lot of confidence. He (Varun) bowled the right lengths and importantly did exactly what his captain wanted,'' explained the Kerala Ranji coach.
Speaking of man of the match Shubman Gill, he seems to be playing with lot of maturity and responsibility.
"I think as an opener, it's very important to stay there and it's your duty to see the team through. The plan was simple. I was there to get set and see my team through. Total wasn't that big. So it was important for me to stay there. As a batting unit, I think we all did well,'' said Gill.
"I think the ball wasn't spinning much and was easy to hit down the ground. I have practised power hitting in the last couple of years. I think it was important for us to win. We bowled really well and we had to back it up with a good performance. There weren't any long conversations with Morgan. We were just trying to anticipate what the bowlers can try and do,'' added the youngster insisting that power hitting helped him in his task.