Navi Mumbai: Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Tim Southee admitted that the two-time IPL champions missed out on a good chance of winning their last match against Rajasthan Royals last Monday.
In a run-fest at Brabourne Stadium, Kolkata needed 40 off 24 balls to chase down 218. But leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took four wickets in an over, including a hat-trick, to break the back of the chase and eventually, Kolkata went down by 15 runs, registering their third straight loss on the trot.
“Last one (against Rajasthan) was the one which probably slipped away. We got ourselves into a position to win that match, but we didn’t. We know it’s a long tournament and it’s not quite panic stations just yet hopefully we will cross the line tonight and sort of ease things into the back end of the tournament,” said Southee in a pre-match chat with broadcasters Star Sports ahead of a crucial match against Gujarat Titans.
The match against Gujarat at DY Patil Stadium is Southee’s third game of IPL 2022. In his two appearances of the ongoing tournament, Southee has picked five wickets at an average of 11.20 and economy rate of 7.
“I am feeling pretty good, had a couple of games early on in the tournament and had plenty of practice sessions. In a long tournament as a bowler plenty of opportunities to continue to work on your game in the nets,” stated Southee.
Southee, the senior New Zealand pacer, signed off by saying that he completely understands the priority of Kolkata finding the best combination over him not getting much game time.
“The nature of the tournament is such that you got so many class overseas players, and also working out the balance of local Indian players as well. Understanding that is a priority and as much as you want to play, understanding what’s the best for the team and their best opportunity to win games of cricket.”
