Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Dwayne Bravo has said that the batters are "low on confidence" right now. The former CSK player's comments came after KKR faced an embarrassing 39-run defeat against Gujarat Titans (GT) at Eden Gardens on April 21. This was the side's fifth loss, making their dream of lifting the fourth Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) title a distant dream.
Chasing 199 runs for a win, KKR batters struggled for large parts in the run chase and failed to cut loose. None of the KKR batters could score runs at a brisk pace as they lost the majority of their wickets to GT spinners.
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"IPL is a tough tournament, and when you don't start well, you know, batsmen go into a period where they lose confidence," Bravo said at the post-match media interaction, summing up the mood in the dressing room.
"That's what's happening at the moment. So, like I said, we just have to keep backing them, and hopefully, they come good...our batters, low in confidence, and normally, runs bring confidence.
"Form brings confidence. And we, at the moment, to be honest, don't have that confidence," he explained.
Dwayne Bravo refuses to blame Eden Gardens surface after KKR suffers fifth loss
While for any home loss, the easier option is to blame the pitch, Bravo refused to point fingers at the Eden surface and said the pitch was fine for KKR vs GT clash.
"Nothing is wrong with the wicket," he said. "I wouldn't come here to talk about the wicket. I think both teams play on the wicket and, you know, we didn't play a good game of cricket. So definitely, if we don't play in the three facets of the game, good, and the other team plays better, more likely they will win. So I'm not having anything, nothing is wrong with the wicket.
"So I just felt that they play better than us. They win key moments, and their batsmen bat in the, the guys who bat in the first three, you know, they both score half-centuries. So I think that was the difference."
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For the unversed, Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee came under the scanner after KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane wanted a spin-friendly surface after KKR's first defeat at home against RCB in the IPL 2025 opener. However, there was no alteration in pitches in the matches played after the RCB game at the Eden Gardens this season.
