In the aftermath of Kolkata Knight Riders’ defeat to Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 encounter on April 8, Varun Chakravarthy conceded that Kolkata had erred in assessing the pitch conditions. The match, held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, saw KKR succumb to a 7-wicket loss, thereby putting an end to their three-match winning streak in the ongoing T20 tournament.
Despite a strong start in the powerplay, where they amassed 56 runs, KKR struggled to accelerate and concluded their innings at 137 for 9. In hindsight, Chakravarthy, aged 32, believed that Kolkata could have posed a more formidable challenge to Chennai on the sluggish pitch had they posted a total in the range of 160 to 170 runs.
Reflecting on the unexpected behavior of the pitch, Chakravarthy remarked, “When I saw the pitch, I felt it was flat, but the way the track behaved was totally different. That can happen on any ground. 160-170 would have been a fighting total.”
The spinner also highlighted the challenge posed by the dew factor, which made bowling difficult for him and his teammates. Despite finishing with respectable figures of 4-0-26-6, Chakravarthy faced a tough time bowling to Shivam Dube in the 16th over, conceding back-to-back sixes.
Commenting on the challenging conditions, he stated, “There was a lot of dew in the second innings and bowling to Dube was tough. The seam was very wet, and I could not grip the ball much.”
Following the defeat, Kolkata retained their second position in the table with 6 points and a net run rate of +1.528, courtesy of victories in three out of four games played. KKR’s upcoming fixture is scheduled against KL Rahul’s Lucknow team on Sunday, April 14, at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
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