IPL: Bayliss Wants KKR Batsmen To Fire

Abu Dhabi: By the 17th over, it seemed like Kolkata Knight Riders would pull off a sensational run-chase. Needing 16 off the last 12 balls, one got a feeling they had the match in their pocket, but James Faulkner's heroics with the ball, followed by a thrilling Super Over denied Gautam Gambhir's men the much needed victory.

The result might have not been the ideal way for KKR to sign off the UAE leg, but coach Trevor Bayliss says the team did well to come close to the target, but not before admitting to his team's inconsistent show with the bat.

"We've just been a little bit off in our game. We played really well in our first match but I don't think we have performed anywhere near our potential yet. We've seen flashes of it tonight but that's the highs and lows of a T20 game," Bayliss said in the post-match conference.

The match was evenly poised at 88/4 when Surya Kumar Yadav and allrounder Shakib Al Hasan revived the KKR innings and took the score to 137. Yadav's 19-ball 31 almost got his side home and Bayliss was quick to laud the effort of the 23-year-old-batsman.

"I think he did a fantastic job. I believe he is one of the better finishers I've seen. He might not look like the big-hitting player but anyone who can sweep a medium-pacer over a big boundary at square leg, to me that person is a power hitter. He has done extremely well for us in the three or four games he has batted," Bayliss said.

However, Bayliss did confess that KKR's batting has not lived upto its potential and the batsmen need to get among the runs before it gets late. "We're looking forward to all our batsmen scoring runs. That's what everyone is striving for. It was good to see the captain [Gambhir] score some runs tonight, which will hopefully be the beginning of a good run for him."

Dismissing the thoughts of perhaps not having a big-hitter in the Super over cost them the match, the former Sri Lanka coach said his team possesses a few genuine match-winners.

"I'm not necessarily concerned about having a big hitter in the team. I think we have got some good finishers. As I said earlier, Yadav did an outstanding job for us. Even Shakib I think played well towards the end. Sometimes you can hit a six and then miss two three in a row, but that's not as good a someone who hits a four and take a couple of twos. We just need to play a little more smartly. With two overs to go, I think we could have won but you learn from mistakes and hopefully we won't repeat it again," he said.

KKR's chase owed a lot to Gambhir's 44-ball 45 at the top which ended his dry spell of runs and Bayliss is hopeful of the KKR skipper to make the start count.

"He was obviously disappointed. Not from his own point of view but due to the fact that he wasn't able to get his side off to a start. If he gets going up front, then we are in a lot better position to win games. Yes, we didn't win today but I thought it was a good run-chase, batting second and scoring a 150-odd runs is always a pressure situation in a close game. So the fact that he was hitting the ball well was good to see and hopefully it is a sign of things to come."