IPL 2023: 'Cause of worry...:' KKR skipper Nitish Rana blasts bowlers after loss against MI

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Nitish Rana tore into his bowlers after the latest loss against Mumbai Indians. Batting first, KKR managed a score of 185/6 in 20 overs after looking set to score at least 200, thanks to Venkatesh Iyer's 104 off 51 balls.

Speaking to Ravi Shastri at the post match presentation, Rana said, "Definitely, I would like my bowling unit to deliver. One or two matches are fine... but it's happening for five matches in a row now. Every bowler can have one or two bad days, but when it happens back-to-back, it's a cause of worry. We need to have a talk about it when we sit back, and come back stronger.”

The statement comes after KKR bowlers have leaked 200 runs on two occasions in the five matches they have played so far. And in the two matches where KKR bowlers didn't go for 200, they leaked 191 and 186 against Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians, respectively. In the five matches, only once KKR bowlers have one for 123, against Royals Challengers Bangalore, in a winning cause.

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As for the batting, KKR have crossed 200 three times, with one of the times being against Gujarat Titans, where they chased down 204, thanks for Rinku Singh's five sixes off the last five balls of the match.

In their latest match, against MI, KKR batted first and after an early wicket, Venkatesh Iyer tore into MI bowlers, scoring a blistering ton, a first for a KKR batsman since Brendon McCullum's 158 not out in the inaugural match of IPL history back in 2008. Other KKR batsmen, however, couldn't match up Iyer's audacity as they fell short by 20 runs at least on a good batting wicket.

Chasing 186, MI were given a flying start by Ishan Kishan, who hit a 21-ball 50 and added 65 for the first wicket with Rohit Sharma, who came in to bat as an Impact Sub. Stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav also returned to form with 25-ball 43 while Tilak Verma and Tim David played handy knocks of 30 and 24, respectively to help Mumbai register their second win on the trot.

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