Nitish Rana Rues Dropped Catch After Loss to Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana (4) rued Impact Player Suyash Sharma (0/37) dropping a catch at a crucial juncture of Indian Premier League 2023 Match 39 against Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.

It was on the first delivery of the 16th over when Titans batter David Miller (32*) top-edged an Andre Russell (34 & 1/29) delivery high into the night sky. Fielding at short third man, Sharma made a mess of a catching opportunity.

A clear case of a fielder misjudging a high catch, Sharma didn’t even get his hands on to the ball as Miller and Vijay Shankar (51*) ran a couple of runs in addition to the former receiving a reprieve.

Nitish Rana Rues Dropped Catch After Loss to Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens

GT, who needed 51 runs in five overs to win at the time, ended up sealing the chase with 13 balls remaining in the match. Miller, who had hit a couple of sixes off Sharma in the previous over, didn’t score another boundary after the dropped catch. However, his potential absence could’ve easily affected the visiting batters’ morale in a 180-run chase.

“If we keep dropping catches against big teams, I do not think the result will be any different. We kept them quiet in the middle overs but against such teams, if you do not take your chances, you will end up on the losing side,” Rana told host broadcaster Star Sports Network after a 7-wicket loss.

Part of a match-winning 39-ball 87-run partnership for the fourth wicket alongside Shankar, Miller did kick-start the boundary hitting process between the two. However, once Shankar took over, the left-handed batter didn’t mind becoming a mere spectator at the non-striker’s end.

Having scored 12* (12) at one point in time, Shankar outperformed Miller by quite a margin on the back of hitting a total of two fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 212.50.

Kolkata Knight Riders Lose Sixth IPL 2023 Match

Having barely managed to return to winning ways after four losses in a row, KKR found themselves on the losing side for the sixth time in the ongoing 16th edition of the IPL.

With them winning only three matches thus far, they are currently at a worried seventh position on the points table especially after being the only team to have played nine league matches this season thus far.

Scheduled to face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on Thursday, Knight Riders don’t have many options than to win for another loss would make playoffs qualification really difficult for them.