MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer on Monday praised Rinku Singh for his “outstanding” calm under pressure and called him a “trump card” for the team.
Singh smashed an undefeated 23-ball 42 with six boundaries and a six as he and Nitish Rana (48 not out) chased a 153-run goal with ease for a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals.
“I spoke to my teammates in the dressing room and I found that even under such pressure he keeps his composure when he’s playing his second or third game, which is excellent,” Shreyas said during the awards ceremony after the game.

“Forging this partnership with Nitish Rana in this situation is something to be commended for and he is a great asset for the future of the franchise.
“The way he shows up from the first game, he doesn’t look like a newcomer to the team.”
Shreyas also commended his bowlers, particularly veterans Umesh Yadav (1/24) and Sunil Narine (0/19), for consistently producing the goods for KKR.
“Right off the power play when our bowlers conceded just 36 carries and won one wicket, that was the start we needed,” he said.
“We talked about Umesh from the beginning. He’s upped his pace, throwing those hard lengths and as a captain you just have to give him the ball to deliver.
“Whenever I give the ball to Sunil Narine he brings me wickets but the batsmen don’t take chances against him. He’s very economical but if he gets a wicket he gets a big one.”

One area where KKR struggled is the opening slot and Shreyas said they need to address the issue.
“We’re looking for a good start. I love pressure, but building up the innings in every game makes me sweat a lot.”
Rajasthan captain Sanju Samson blamed his batting unit for not being able to accelerate at the end.
“I think the wicket was a bit slow and they bowled really well but with the batting we have I would have liked to have made a few more boundaries at the end. I think we were 15-20 runs short,” he said.
“We put on a real fight in bowling and fielding. The body language and energy were amazing. I think we could have hit a little bit better.”

“I think you need to keep assessing the game and who’s batting with you. Wickets at intervals prevented me from continuing with momentum. When I wanted to play hard, they bowled really well and we couldn’t execute our shots.”
Samson also said he’s had “a problem the last few games”.
“But I’m recovering well and (my back) is fine. It was a great effort (on the field).”