New Delhi, April 10 – Former Australia captain Aaron Finch believes that Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) middle order lacked confidence and form during their innings against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
Despite posting a competitive score of 181/4, Finch felt that several KKR batters struggled to find their rhythm and clarity during the middle overs.
"There were a couple of batters who seemed to be seriously searching for form," Finch told ESPNcricinfo while analyzing the innings.
KKR were well-placed at 98/1 at the halfway stage, thanks to a solid partnership between Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. However, the momentum waned after their dismissals, with the middle order failing to maintain the same intensity.
Finch pointed out that Cameron Green appeared uncertain at the crease during the early part of his innings.
"When Cameron Green first walked in, it was like he was unsure about his game. Should I go for a big shot? Or should I just accumulate runs? And that leads to losing all your intent. You end up facing a lot of dot balls. It builds pressure," he explained.
The former opener was also critical of vice-captain Rinku Singh, who looked out of touch and scored only four runs off seven balls.
"Rinku, on the other hand, just looked completely out of sorts. It was almost as if he wasn't watching the ball as closely as he should have. He was trying to play a shot, but all his power was going away from the ball. It was really unusual, which is something I haven't seen from him before," Finch added.
According to Finch, the overall body language of the KKR middle order suggested a lack of confidence at a crucial stage of the innings, which eventually led to the team not crossing the 200-run mark.
"There was a batting lineup that looked short on confidence in that middle order," he noted.
KKR eventually managed to recover in the death overs, with late hitting pushing them to 181/4, but it was not enough as LSG chased down the total on the last ball with the help of a match-winning 54-run knock from youngster Mukul Choudhary.