Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Daniel Vettori said that Ramandeep Singh's knock laid the platform for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the thrilling Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 contest on Saturday at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

At one point in time, the Knights were struggling at 51 for 4 in 7.3 overs. However, Ramandeep came out firing on all cylinders to score 35 runs off 17 balls before Pat Cummins put an end to his belligerence. Ramandeep and Phil Salt put on 54 runs for the fifth wicket to bring the Knight Riders back into the contest. "It was a great innings. I don't think we underestimated him, but the shots he played were fantastic. It put the pressure back on us," Vettori said in the post-match press conference. "When you look at good T20 games, good T20 players, irrespective of the situation, they are able to put pressure straight back on the bowling team and that's what he was able to do. It allowed Salt at the other end to just play his game."

'Andre Russell's power is second to none'

Vettori also said that Ramandeep's knock helped Andre Russell take the SRH bowlers to the cleaners. Russell stayed not out on 64 off 25 with 3 fours and 7 sixes as the Knights put up a huge score of 208 for 7. "Ramandeep's innings set up the platform for Russell. On this ground in particular, it's very tricky. Obviously, he would give some chances, balls go up in the air, but his power is second to none. So, you have to challenge yourself on being perfect with execution and in an environment like this up against an amazing batsman," Vettori added. The match in Kolkata went right down to the wire, but the Knights won by 4 runs. Harshit Rana defended 13 runs in the final over to take his team past the finish line. IPL 2024: Hardik, Shubman meet, but in different territories, Royals face LSG