Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane admitted that his batters lacked 'game awareness' in their defeat to Punjab Kings and reminded them that strike rotation is as important as hitting sixes in the T20 format.

The 16-run defeat in a low-scoring thriller here on Tuesday night kept the Knight Riders at sixth spot on the table with as many points after seven matches.
The Kings were all out for 111, but they came back strongly to roll over KKR for 95 to celebrate a fine victory. “See, it was not a flat wicket. It had something for the bowlers. We had to grind it out.

“It’s all about rotating the strike as a batting unit. T20, I believe, it’s not only about hitting sixes. Now, we are seeing most of the batters are going for big shots, and they want to look good on the field.

“But it’s all about reading the situation well, having that game awareness as a batter, and then taking the game forward. That’s what I thought we lacked,” he added.

Rahane was gracious enough to take the blame for the defeat on his shoulders, but hoped that his colleagues would up their game in the next match itself. “I take the responsibility [for the defeat] as a captain. But individually, I’m sure all the players, especially the batters, will think about their own game and improve in the upcoming matches.

“Half of the tournament is over, and seven matches have been played, and only half are left. It’s always about coming back with good intent,” he said.
The 36-year-old conceded that KKR had a collective failure as a batting unit and said they were not complacent after a smooth eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their previous match.

“I wouldn’t say we were complacent or overconfident. It’s a collective failure of the batting unit. It’s not like Punjab bowled exceptionally well. I think we played bad cricket as a batting unit. When we lost those 3-4 wickets, it was only about taking your time and those even singles. That was important,” he noted.“I wouldn’t say we were complacent or overconfident. It’s a collective failure of the batting unit. It’s not like Punjab bowled exceptionally well. I think we played bad cricket as a batting unit. When we lost those 3-4 wickets, it was only about taking your time and those even singles. That was important,” he noted.