IPL 2026: I Was Just Happy To See All Of Them Putting Their Effort, Says Kishan

IPL 2026: I was just happy to see all of them putting their effort, says Kishan (Image Source: IANS)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Ishan Kishan praised his team’s collective commitment after their emphatic 65-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash at the Eden Gardens, saying he was delighted to see every player contribute to the side’s first victory of the season.

"Not at the way I played, but the way the rest of the team. It’s always the team. So, really happy the way they were committed on the ground and everyone was putting their energy, and that was something I asked for before the game. I was just happy to see all of them putting their effort," said Kishan at the conclusion of the game.

He credited Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma for setting the tone with a blistering Power-play through an 82-run partnership. "No, I don’t think the pitch was that good, to be very honest.

“I think Head and Abhishek played beautiful knocks out there, and getting those all 80 runs in the power play made the game easy for us because I think every batter got that extra time to take singles and understand how the pitch is playing. So, to be very honest, I give credit to both the batters and Klassy taking it to the end, Nitesh playing a lovely knock. So, it was overall a team effort, I feel."

On the bowling front, Kishan highlighted the importance of early breakthroughs, just like how Harsh Dubey took out Finn Allen. "Our plan was to take wickets, you know, and we all know when Finn goes, it’s hard to stop him, but at the same time, we were just looking for wickets.

“Harsh just bowled that ball, and we were lucky enough to get his wicket. But I’m really happy with the bowlers, the way they performed, and the way they were executing their plans. Harsh has been doing well for his domestic team as well. Now, he is keeping his nerves down, as you said. He’s been calm in tough situations as well."

He also singled out debutant Shivang Kumar for his fearless approach. "But I would love to talk about Shivang today because, you know, coming here, playing against KKR, not so big ground, good wicket in the second innings, he bowled exceptionally well, I feel.

“So, that is something; his hard work paid off. He was working a lot. He was in touch with all the coaches. He was trying to understand how this game works here. You can see how he was bowling with a big heart against Rinku, bowling those flighted balls. So, that is something you always want to see from a young bowler who comes into the team, and he did the job for us."

Kishan admitted that fielding remains an area of concern. "I think we are getting to know about the areas in every game. So, fielding is something we need to work on as a team. We cannot be giving 20-odd runs in each game. So, we will have to work there because in IPL, 20 or 10 runs make a huge difference in a T20 game. So, we’ll work on it as a team."

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane said KKR’s chase faltered in the middle overs. "I thought we did a couple of big partnerships. Guys who were set needed to take it deep in the end with the ball (bat). I thought we came back really well for 7-8 overs.

“Within the (10) overs, I thought they were 130, 140-odd. But with the ball, I thought we came back really well. In batting, when you're chasing the target, you know you need that partnership. We couldn't get that."

On conditions, Rahane said, "I thought the second innings, I felt the ball was slightly stopping. The slower balls were gripping a lot more than in the first innings. We thought the wicket would get better, but the ball was a little stopping. But again, see, no excuses.

“We got a good start. I thought the first six overs we were 78. We lost that one extra wicket, and Green was run out. But apart from that, we were going really well. As I said, the middle overs were the crucial time for us. We needed that partnership from the set batters. That just didn't happen. I thought SRH bowlers executed the slower balls, and the angles that they used were really good."

On conditions, Rahane said, "I thought the second innings, I felt the ball was slightly stopping. The slower balls were gripping a lot more than in the first innings. We thought the wicket would get better, but the ball was a little stopping. But again, see, no excuses.

“But again, we got 3-4 days. We don't want to think too much. I think guys are doing really well. Just one off day with the bat. Last game we did really well. Just needed those small partnerships. I think if the batters can have that positive mindset and this extra awareness while batting, I think we'll be fine."

Article Source: IANS