IPL 10: Rules need to be looked at, can't play at 2am, says Nathan Coulter-Nile

Kolkata Knight Riders registered a crucial win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the all-important Eliminator at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. KKR knocked out the defending champions in the rain-affected game. Pace bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile was awarded the Man of the Match for his superlative efforts with the ball on the day. He had returned with figures of 3/20 in his quota of four overs.

The Knight Riders had managed to restrict the opposition to mere 128/7 in their 20 overs. However, soon after the innings, a heavy downpour hit the stadium. Needless to say, it was long wait before the match finally got underway. The match started as late as 12:55 am. After having started on Wednesday evening, the match ended on Thursday morning. It was a 6-overs chase for KKR.

Talking about the same, Nathan Coulter-Nile noted that the rules definitely need to be looked at. He cited that playing cricket at around 2 am sound absurd. As per the quotes in the Indian Express, he spoke about the same.

“No one got nervous till they went out there for the last look at 12.30. It looked like I didn’t want to play. There was so much time. Rules probably need to be looked at. You can’t be playing cricket at 2am. But I wasn’t nervous at all. There was so much time, we had to get on,” Nathan Coulter-Nile noted.

Content on the personal front

On the personal front, he was content with the way he had bowled. He remarked that he was a little lucky to have got three wickets in the game. He was not a part of the starting eleven in the last couple of matches. But since he felt up for selection in this particular game, he went ahead with it.

“I think I was a little lucky on my three-wicket haul. We got a couple of lucky wickets, but the boys bowled fantastically. Recovery and rehab after getting injured was tough. I was really tired, had headaches and was sick. But it wasn’t much of a rehab or anything. I woke up this morning feeling pretty good so I put my hand up for selection,” revealed the Aussie speedster.

Commenting on the dismissal of Kane Williamson, Nathan Coulter-Nile pointed out that the Kiwi batsman was looking very reserved in his approach with the bat. Williamson had scored 26 off 24 balls in the innings. The Aussie had his plans for him and it eventually worked out.

“Kane actually tried to play quite reserved. We were looking for the ones which were hard to get going. So, after the time out, I think they had more intent. It looked to me like he just wanted shots. Every time he came to bat, I just wanted to take him further offside to make him jot down to the ground,” he noted.

Up for the next hurdle

Kolkata Knight Riders will now be up against the Mumbai Indians in the Qualifier 2 at the very same venue in Bengaluru. He knows the tram has the potential to do well. Also, he expects the wicket to be on the slower side yet again. He looked excited at the prospect of winning the trophy for the third time in the history of the tournament.

“We have to work hard for the second clash. Our play is still going quite well, taking wickets. I think we have a pretty different bowling tactic than what we had at some bad times. I think that’s something new we can bring up against them. Hopefully, that’s something new we can bring up against them. It is going to be long and slow wicket again, hard to get going. So it will boil down to who bats better,” Nathan Coulter-Nile conceded.

“KKR had a 10 year celebration the other day. It was the first time I found out that we could be the only team this time to win the tournament for the third time,” he added further.