Ajinkya Rahane’s jibe at Eden curator Sujan Mukherjee at Tuesday’s news conference sent out a clear message. The Knight Riders are unhappy with the wicket at home though it produced more than 450 runs on Tuesday.
The Kolkata Knight Riders lost to Lucknow Super Giants by four runs in a high-scoring game on Tuesday.
After blasting Sunrisers Hyderabad last Thursday, both skipper Rahane and his deputy Venkatesh Iyer were pleased with the dry, slower Eden wicket. But following Tuesday’s loss on a belter of a track, Rahane said the pitch had no help for spinners before taking on the Eden curator.
More than a week remains before the Knights return to the Eden for their next home game against the Gujarat Titans on April 21. It’s not decided yet which pitch will be in use for that game.
Mukherjee was unavailable for comment on Wednesday, but according to Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) sources, the pitch for the Titans clash won’t be too different from that of Tuesday’s.
“Since the time Sourav Ganguly became the association president, we have had sporting wickets at the Eden with firm bounce. Such is the nature of the black cotton soil that we have at the Eden. It’s rich in clay with high water-retention capacity.
“So, there has been some help for all: batters, quicks and spinners. Now, in case of such soil, you can’t effect too many changes in the pitch. People need to understand that,” a CAB official told The Telegraph on Wednesday.
The Knights next face a struggling Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
With the four pitches used so far in Chennai being under the supervision of a BCCIcurator and not the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association,the Super Kings too haven’t enjoyed much of a homeadvantage.
However, a common characteristic of the Chepauk pitch is a bit of turn for spinners, with the ball gripping a little on the surface.
It remains to be seen if the Knights go with the same XI or at least bring spinner all-rounder Moeen Ali back in place of Australia pacer Spencer Johnson.
SRK support
Principal owner Shah Rukh Khan urged his Knights to learn from the defeat to Lucknow and look to fight till the last ball in the coming matches. “Big shout out to all the batters who gave their best, but sometimes our best is not good enough.
“All I can say is leave the defeat behind and just take the lesson that we were only one hit away.
“We should not give up till the end,” SRK’s message read.
