Kolkata: Seldom will you see any cricketer feeling repentant as Yusuf Pathan was on Thursday as the Knight Riders batsman admitted having committed a “crime” of not finishing off the game against Delhi Daredevils in the last match.
The senior Pathan scored a match winning knock of 59 runs off 39 balls against Delhi, but failed to see his side through till the end. Pathan bailed out the Kolkata Knight Riders with a 110 run partnership with Manish Pandey for the fourth wicket.
It was Pandey who kept his nerve till the end to take the Knights home against Daredevils.
“I should have finished the match,” Pathan told reporters in Kolkata on the eve of their match against Gujarat Lions.
He added, “It’s not easy for the new batsman to continue the good work sraightaway after a set batsman is out. Sometimes when a set batsman is out, new batsman sometimes struggles. In the last match, after batting so well, I got out which was a crime. I will try to not repeat the same mistake.”
The batsman from Baroda admitted that he is focusing on staying longer at the crease without changing his aggressive style of play.
“My game hasn’t changed. I have got more overs to play now, like 12-14. So keeping that in mind, my shots won’t change, but at the same time I would look to play a longer innings. I am enjoying a lot,” said the dashing batsman.
The hosts will feel confident ahead of its side against the Lions, courtesy their three successive wins on the trot. On being asked whether the Suresh Raina-led side would be easy meat for the men in purple, Pathan said no team can be underestimated in sport.
“There is no weak team in any competition in any sport. All teams compete against eachother and every team wants to win. There are two-three teams in every competition that despite their efforts don’t do so well like their other rivals. That doesn’t make them a weak team,” Pathan said.
Asked about KKR’s opening conundrum since Australian Chris Lynn got injured, Pathan said: “If you say we cannot fix one slot (opening), we are doing well in all other slots. There are a lot of positives to take from. The more we will play, combinations will be forged. The coach and captain are thinking over opening slot and they will come out with a solution.”
Pathan, who has been with the KKR for the last seven seasons feel, “When you come off a good away match, and at home also we are doing so well…the confidence level is very high. We are playing good cricket and will look to continue that. Of course, we won against them (Gujarat Lions by 10 wickets) handsomely and there is a certain confidence that is there. Our job is to play good cricket. We have nine matches to play, will look to continue good work.”