Rana's run out cost us the game, says Karthik

Rana's run out cost us the game, says Karthik Images (Dinesh Karthik)

Kolkata, May 26 - Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Dinesh Karthik feels Nitish Rana's run out cost them dear as they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 14 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 on Friday.

Chasing 175 for victory, KKR were cruising at 87/1 when Rana slipped trying to run a second and Rashid Khan combined with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha to effect the run out.

KKR could never recover from there as Rashid weaved his magic to scalp 3/19 and get rid of Chris Lynn (48), Robin Uthappa (2) and the dangerous Andre Russell (3).

KKR could manage 160/9 in 20 overs, thus missing a chance to play in the final against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.

"Nitish Rana's wicket changed the course of the game. Because we were 80/1 at that stage, if he had pushed off at that stage and taken off..we had wickets in hands towards the last 6-7 overs," Karthik said at the post match press conference.

"The game could have been ours. So Nitish's wicket was very important at that stage and it was a silly dismissal," he added.

Lauding Rashid for his virtuoso performance, the Afghanistan spinner also smashed an unbeaten 10-ball 34 to drag Sunrisers out of a hole and post 174/7, Karthik said KKR batsmen had played him well in the previous two league matches but it was just his day.

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