Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Vaibhav Arora credited disciplined execution and smart use of conditions for their thrilling Super Over victory against Lucknow SuperGiants in Lucknow on Sunday.
Defending a modest total of 155, Arora said the team focused on targeting the bigger side of the boundary and building pressure through consistent lines and lengths after Lucknow Super Giants also ended up on an identical 155, forcing the contest into the Super Over.
“We wanted to target the big side of the boundary at that stage. Even when I bowled the second last over, the plan was to bowl outside the off-stump and force the batters to take that on because the wind was also in our favour. We’re seeing 200-250 scores being chased down, so 156 compared to that was a small target,” Arora said.
“However, we bowled in the right areas and that increased the scoreboard pressure for them, resulting in the run rate increasing constantly. We always knew that we can target the bigger boundary if the required run rate climbs up to 10, and execute our plans well to win the game.”
Arora said while the pitch at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, was slightly challenging, it was still a surface where a chase was possible, making their bowling effort even more crucial.
“The pitch was a little tough, but it was not one of those surfaces where you can’t chase down 155. We bowled well as a unit, put the ball in the right areas and only conceded 37 runs in the powerplay and also got a wicket. I got the wicket in the second over, so we had the momentum from the start.
“After that, we finished the power play well, controlled the middle overs and the spinners kept chipping away with wickets. I believe that we have the best spinners in the IPL. Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy – they did a great job. By the end, the required run rate had climbed to 10-12 runs per over, and we finished it off well,” he said.
Arora also highlighted the importance of Rinku Singh’s belligerent unbeaten 83 off 51 deliveries, which helped KKR post a competitive total. KKR were tottering at 73 for 5 before Rinku showed great maturity to bail the team out.
“We’ve won the game because of that knock. If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t have got to a total of 155 and that was a decent score on this pitch. He smashed four sixes in the last over, and those proved to be the difference in helping us win the match in the end,” he said.
On the Super Over, Arora said the team had complete faith in veteran spinner Narine to deliver under pressure.
“In the super over, we know our best bowler in the team was Sunil Narine. He’s been serving the franchise for so many years, and everyone trusted him blindly with that responsibility. As you witnessed, he dismissed both batters and only let them score one run.”
“We knew we had the advantage with the best bowler in Narine. He’s delivered a maiden in a super over in the past. So, there was no one better than him at that time. He restricted them to a solitary run and it was an easy chance for us then,” Arora said.
After recording their second win in eight matches, KKR will be hoping to retain the momentum when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next outing in Hyderabad on Sunday (May 3).