IPL 2024: We could have assessed the pitch better – Varun Chakravarthy after loss against CSK

Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Varun Chakravarthy admitted they could have assessed the pitch better after their seven-wicket loss against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Monday.

After being put into bat by CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, KKR could only manage 137 runs on a slow pitch. Sunil Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi added 56 runs for the second wicket in the Powerplay overs after Phil Salt was dismissed on a golden duck.

KKR kept losing wickets at regular intervals and never got any momentum going in their batting innings. Shreyas Iyer top-scored with 34 but Ravindra Jadeja returned with impressive figures of 3-18 as he accounted for Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi in his fine spell. Furthermore, Mustafizur Rahman and Tushar Deshpande picked two and three wickets respectively.

“We could have assessed the pitch better because it was staying low. It was tough to connect the shots, but I felt 160 would have been a par score,” Chakravarthy said in the post-match press conference.

The mystery spinner added that 160-170 would have been a fighting score on a slow pitch against CSK.

“When I saw the pitch, I felt it was flat, but the way the track behaved was totally different. That can happen on any ground. 160-170 would have been a fighting total,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Chakravarthy admitted that dew made it difficult for him to grip the ball. The KKR spinner went wicketless in his quota of four overs and conceded 26 runs.

“There was a lot of dew in the second innings and bowling to Dube was tough. The seam was very wet, and I could not grip the ball much,” Chakravarthy added.

This was KKR’s first loss of the season and their batting led to their downfall. Kolkata Knight Riders will next take on Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday.