Follow a disappointing 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign which saw Kolkata Knight Riders miss out on play-off qualification, assistant coach Simon Katich had admitted that the side deserved to finish where it did.
Needing a win in their final league fixture against Mumbai Indians on Sunday to book a play-off spot, Kolkata fell to a crushing nine-wicket defeat at the Wankhede stadium to crash out of the tournament with a fifth-place finish.
Speaking after the game, a disappointed Katich said, “It did go wrong, that’s for sure.”
“Today is obviously disappointing but it’s a tough ask coming to Mumbai, we don’t obviously have great record here.
“Yes, it would have been great to win today and get through but to finish where we did is probably what we deserved given how our season went.”
"Not our best season, there are a lot of areas for us to improve on, and I'm sure we will come back stronger next year" - Skipper @DineshKarthik #VIVOIPL #IPL #KorboLorboJeetbo
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 5, 2019
Having started the season in blazing style with four victories in five games, Dinesh Karthik and his men fell away dramatically after going on a six-match losing streak. Katich rued the side’s costly home defeats to Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals in particular as he looked back on a disappointing campaign.
“We had a very good start but it fell away badly through that middle phase of the tournament,” he said.
“If you look back on our season, the two missed opportunities we had were in the matches against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals. We hadn’t played well through the season but to lose those two games was always going to come back and hurt us in the end.
“When you look back in the end, that’s what probably catches up with you, when you don’t win at home, where that wicket suits our style of play, particularly our batsmen, given how flat it’s been.”
