Playing and performing in front of Shah Rukh Khan was a ‘dream come true’, said Man of the Match Rahul Tripathi after his 81 off 15 helped Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings at Abu Dhabi on Wednesday in the IPL 2020 game. Opening the batting in place of Sunil Narine, Tripathi went all guns blazing to power KKR to 167 all out, a total they defended and won by 10 runs.
Tripathi had batted at No. 8 in the previous game and said he was ready for all situations.
IPL Has Been Quite A Journey, says Tripathi
“Something like a dream come true for me,” he said in the post match presentation. “Was prepared for both the roles. Thought the ball was coming nicely, so I thought we should keep up the scoreboard which is why those shots came out, nothing special, Shubman was also hitting the ball well. The IPL has been quite a journey. I have loved this journey and coming to KKR is special. Performing in front of Shahrukh sir is very special. It’s a dream come true.”
Meanwhile, captain Dinesh Karthik said he was happy the trust he had in Sunil Narine paid off. Karthik held back Narine untill the 12th over, keeping him for MS Dhoni in the middle overs. Narine played a part in CSK choking, getting the wicket of Shane Watson in the process.
Karthik also said KKR’s batting line up is very fluid and flexible.
Key Players
“Sunil Narine is a key player, he has always delivered for us. Least we can do is back him,” he said. “The way he has come back and shown what he’s capable of, I’m proud of him.
“We thought we’ll ease pressure off Tripathi a little and good to see him go well. Russell is versatile, he can bat up and down. Our batting is very fluid. I started at 3 and batting at 7. The way those guys batted at the start, they did well. Back end, I have a lot of faith in Sunny and Varun.”
Meanwhile, Andre Russell managed only 2 runs with the bat but bowled a couple of key overs in the death to win the game for KKR.
“That’s the beauty of this game. Didn’t go well with the bat and I made up with the ball today. Big moment bowling the pressure overs and I’m happy,” he said. “Cross-seamers are the danger balls on this surface and once it hits the seam, it kicks. CSK bowlers used that a lot and I made sure I executed it well when I came onto bowl. I’m still confident about finding form with the bat and these things happen in cricket and I’m still working to find my way.”
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