IPL 2022 KKR vs PBKS: Shreyas Iyer reveals his captaincy mindset against Punjab Kings

Shreyas Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered a convincing win over Punjab Kings by 6 wickets. Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and opted to bowl. Put into bat, PBKS managed to post 137 runs in 18.2 overs. While chasing, apart from some quickfire cameos, it was Andre Russell, who sealed the deal with a swashbuckling 70 off 31 with 2 fours and 8 sixes. And, Umesh Yadav starred with the ball as well.

After the win, Umesh Yadav, who won the Man of the Match, said: “I need to work hard. Getting older and when you know you play just one format, I look to bowl as much as possible. When someone improves at practice, they do well during the match as well. I didn’t think Mayank would charge at me on his first ball. He has played me a lot in the nets. I knew he would play off the back foot, and that’s where I looked to bowl on a fuller length. Whatever is happening now, has been because of what I have practised with my coaches. If you bowl at 140kph, you need to be accurate, you need to bowl at the stumps.”

Andre Russell said: “Feeling awesome, this is the reason why we play the game. In that position, I know what I can do. It was good to have someone at the crease like Sam who can rotate and help us stick through the tough time. Once I started sweating, I just said that I am gonna go. I backed my ability and that’s what I did tonight. I am happy to bring the team over the line. I am happy to do whatever the team requires. I am looking to bowl in the death. If the captain wants me to bowl one in the powerplay, I am more than happy to do that but we have a good amount of bowlers. We have a few guys that can actually chip in one or two as well. I know in some games.”

READ MORE: IPL 2022 KKR vs PBKS: Andre Russell powers Kolkata Knight Riders to six-wicket victory

“It was great to see Russell hitting” – Shreyas Iyer

“I won’t be bowling four but if at least I bowl two overs, I can feel a part of the game and feel like an all-rounder. These things do happen, some games it’s gonna be easy and I may not bowl a ball. I am happy to take the batting as well, hit some sixes and do whatever I can do to contribute for the team. We were a couple of wickets down, behind me was Sunil and then the other bowlers. I knew we were the two guys who’ll definitely look to get a partnership. I told Sam, ‘listen, let’s just bat a few overs and see what happens.’ But we had to attack earlier because the left-arm orthodox wasn’t spinning the ball and nothing was happening. So we decided to take charge from one end and look to get singles from the other end. Chahar was bowling extremely well, it was gripping as well. We didn’t want to take much chance against him. We knew it’d get easier. I am going to say one (when asked how many he got off the middle),” Russell further added.

Shreyas Iyer, the winning captain said: “We were stunned by Punjab’s approach. We didn’t expect them to come so hard at us in the initial overs after losing an early wicket. But that’s what I looked to do as well. We got early wickets in the powerplay. My plan was to keep my best bowlers for their hard-hitters. And that’s why I kept Varun and Sunil for late. They made my job easy. They come out with their own strategies. They know what their plans are for the batsmen. They know what they are doing. To be honest, it was great to see Russell hitting. It was Russell Muscle. Umesh told me that he was getting older, but I told him that he was getting fitter. I see him wherever I go, at the gym, and he is working very hard. I know how to get the work done from him, and he has been a wonderful colleague.”