Kolkata Knight Riders kept their hopes of reaching the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs alive with a win over Kings XI Punjab on Friday but the occasion was marred by rumours of trouble in the KKR camp.

Skipper Dinesh Karthik was pictured having an animated chat with his teammates during the match and Karthik — who is known to keep his calm even during high-pressure situations — was seen lashing out at his teammates.

However, after the match, Karthik revealed the reason behind his reaction.

“We live to fight another day. It’s been a hard few days. I wasn’t too happy with the what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time. It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe,” he said at the post-match presentation.

“The last over went for 10 runs too many, but we have to give it to Sam Curran. IPL is that kind of a tournament where someone comes in and scores runs for you, so there’s that balance. It’s a big ground, but we did the small things well. Ran well, put pressure on the bowler, and good execution on the batsmen. It’s fair that we have given Gill a chance at the top of the order, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands,” the KKR skipper added.

Shubman Gill showed maturity beyond years as Kolkata Knight Riders knocked out Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets on Friday to stay afloat in the Indian Premier League.

Chasing a target of 184, the 19-year-old Gill showed his range on his ‘home turf’ with an attractive 65 not out off 49 balls balls, anchoring the chase after Chris Lynn (46 off 22 balls) set the pace with some big hits in the Powerplay overs.

Not only did KKR reach the target in 18 overs but they also improved the net run-rate as they now have 12 points with a must-win away game against Mumbai Indians left.

(With agency inputs)

First Published: May 04, 2019 08:28 IST