'We could have assessed the pitch better' - Varun Chakravarthy on KKR's first loss in IPL 2024

Kolkata Knight Riders' defeat against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024 clash on Monday, April 8 left Varun Chakravarthy acknowledging their misjudgment of the playing conditions. The game witnessed KKR’s three-match-winning spree ending as they lost by seven wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Despite a strong start with 56 runs in the powerplay, KKR struggled to maintain momentum, settling for 137 for nine in their allocated 20 overs. Reflecting on the game, Chakravarthy admitted that they could have assessed the pitch better because it was staying low, and was tough to connect the shots.

“We could have assessed the pitch better because it was staying low. It was tough to connect the shots, but I felt 160 would have been a par score,” Chakravarthy said in the post-match press conference, as quoted by India Today.

He further elaborated that the wicket looked flat, but the way it behaved was different. He said that a score of around 160 - 170 could have been a fighting total on it.

“When I saw the pitch, I felt it was flat, but the way the track behaved was totally different. That can happen on any ground. 160-170 would have been a fighting total. There was a lot of dew in the second innings and bowling to Dube was tough. The seam was very wet, and I could not grip the ball much,” Chakravarthy added.

Also Read: IPL 2024: Top 10 Memes from CSK vs KKR, Match 22

We weren't able to assess the conditions quickly after the powerplay: Shreyas Iyer

After the game, Shreyas Iyer, KKR's captain said that they got a phenomenal start in the powerplay, but lost consecutive wickets and weren't able to assess the conditions quickly after the powerplay as scoring runs wasn't easy. 

"We got a phenomenal start in the powerplay, but we lost consecutive wickets. We weren't able to assess the conditions quickly after the powerplay, scoring runs wasn't easy. They (CSK) know the conditions pretty well, they bowled according to their plans. Wasn't easy (for the new batters) to go after them from the first ball. We were trying to construct the innings, but it didn't fall in place according to the plan. The wicket changed after the powerplay. We were in a comfortable place and we thought 160-170 was a good score, but we lost momentum. We have to go back to the drawing board and got to learn from that. I am glad this happened at the start of the tournament. When we go back, we know our home conditions pretty well. We need to analyse the situations and need to make the best use of it," Iyer said.

Despite the setback, Kolkata hold onto their second position in the table with six points and a net run rate of +1.528 from three wins out of four games. Their next challenge awaits against KL Rahul's Lucknow on Sunday, April 14, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.