Former India opener Virender Sehwag praised young Kolkata Knight Riders batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi for his fluent knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but felt the youngster missed a chance to push on and take the chase deeper. Raghuvanshi scored a brisk 52 off 29 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes, and looked set to anchor the innings. However, his run-out in the 11th over proved a turning point, breaking KKR’s rhythm at a crucial stage. Chasing a 227-run target, KKR struggled to recover after his dismissal and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. They were eventually bowled out for 161, slipping to their second straight loss after an earlier defeat to Mumbai Indians.
Sehwag, however, felt the youngster left the job unfinished, pointing out that converting a good start into a match-defining innings could have made a significant difference to KKR’s chase and even limited the damage to their net run rate.
“He played really well, but these are opportunities that has to be made the most of. If he had played until the 18th or the 20th over, he could have gotten KKR closer. Now the net run-rate will come into play. When you lose by such a big margin, 65 runs, then it will take a hit,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Also Read – Cricketer set to be charged after walking out on a live match to take a flight to the UK
The legendary opening batter went on to offer a piece of advice, urging the youngster to take a leaf out of Virat Kohli’s approach in run chases, stressing the importance of batting deep and seeing games through rather than getting out after a promising start.
“I always say that if you want to learn something from Virat Kohli, learn how he approaches run chases, try to remain till the end and win the game for your team. If he had done that, he would have become a star,” Sehwag added.
“KKR made a lot of mistakes”
With pressure mounting, KKR needed a partnership in the middle, but there were clear signs of a lack of chemistry in their line-up as they lasted just 16 overs.
Sehwag didn’t hold back in his assessment of KKR’s performance, pointing to a series of avoidable errors and poor decision-making that, in his view, cost them a chase that was well within reach.
“KKR made a lot of mistakes today, such mistakes that should not be happening. KKR should have chased down 226 because the wicket did not offer any significant support for the bowlers. Also, it was not as if they faced some strong bowling. Most of the shot selection was poor, there were run outs. I don’t think any batter got out to a good ball,” Sehwag said.
