As his team, Kolkata Knight Riders, gets ready for their next match in New Delhi, pacer Harshit Rana said they will need to move forward and focus on the upcoming matches if they want to bounce back in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
KKR are currently in the seventh position in the points table with seven points from three wins and an abandoned encounter in 9 outings. On Tuesday,
This approach to forget about their previous encounter and focus on upcoming matches would also be advisable to Delhi Capitals, their opponents in Match 48 of IPL 2025 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, who had suffered a six-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
During Monday's pre-match press conference, Rana emphasised the importance of leaving behind their recent defeat and focusing on future challenges.
The more we leave our last two results behind, the better it will be for us. Because as a team, we will go down if we take those games too seriously. We have to win all matches in the future.
Rana said
KKR's last match against Punjab Kings was abandoned because of the rain. Before that, they had slumped to a 39-run defeat to Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens and an embarrassing 16-run loss to Punjab Kings at the PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh in a match in which they were bowled out for 95, the lowest-ever score in IPL history, while chasing a paltry score of 111.
These results would leave any player questioning their ability, but Rana expressed confidence in his team's ability to bounce back as they prepare to face Delhi Capitals in their upcoming match on Tuesday.
During Monday's pre-match press conference, Rana emphasised the importance of leaving behind their recent defeat and focusing on future challenges.
The more we leave our last two results behind, the better it will be for us. Because as a team, we will go down if we take those games too seriously. We have to win all matches in the future.
Rana said
The young pacer shared insights about the pitch conditions at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium. "The bounce is usually low on this pitch. If you look at their last match, the ball was gripping the slower ones. The RCB bowlers used that well," he observed. Rana added that quickly adapting to pitch conditions would be crucial for their success: "The aim is that the sooner we read the pitch, the better it will be for us."
Our Indian bowling group is very strong. There is nothing missing. Overall, our bowling has been very good in the tournament.
Rana also praised KKR's Indian bowling lineup, stating
Rana is one of the best performers for KKR this season with 11 wickets in nine matches, the same picked by Varun Chakravarthy and Vaibhav Arora. With Sunil Narine and Andre Russell claiming seven wickets each, KKR's bowling unit looks settled and potent enough to trouble any batting lineup.
It's the batting that has let down KKR, especially in the match in New Chandigarh. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane is their top scorer with 271 runs, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi has scored 197 runs. One of the reasons for KKR's troubles is that their all-rounder Sunil Narine has not been able to bat as he usually does.
Their opponent, Delhi Capitals, are currently placed fourth in the points table with 12 points from nine matches. They have six wins and three defeats, but it is their last debacle against Royal Challengers Bengaluru which is in focus as Delhi's batting faltered against a strong bowling unit. KL Rahul managed to score 41 while Tristan Stubbs struck an 18-ball 34 late in the order as Bhuvneshwar Kumar rattled them with 3-33 while Josh Hazlewood bagged 2-36.
Their bowlers did a good job of reducing RCB to 26/3, but Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya raised 119 runs for the fourth wicket which setting on course for victory. Kohli scored 51 while Pandya finished with an unbeaten 73 as RCB went on to score 165/4 in 18.3 overs in response to 162/8 scored by Delhi Capitals.
After the defeat to RCB, Delhi Capitals need to bounce back and win the match as it will take them to 14 points in the table, and capitalise on Gujarat Titans' defeat to Rajasthan Royals on Monday.
Both KKR and DC get into Tuesday's match with three defeats in their last five matches. Overall, IN 34 matches, KKR has won 18 and Delhi Capitals 15, while one match ended in a no result.
Probable playing XIs: Delhi Capitals: Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy