IPL 2020: Robin Uthappa speaks after RR lose, says batters could've taken more time to adjust

After stumbling to a 37-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals' Robin Uthappa admitted that the batters in the side could have taken more time to adjust to the wicket of Dubai.

While chasing 175, Rajasthan was restricted to 137/9 in the allotted twenty overs. In the end, Tom Curran played an innings of 54 runs from just 36 balls to take Royals' score past the 130-run mark.

At one stage, Rajasthan was reduced to 88/8 as KKR bowlers wreaked havoc at the Dubai International Stadium. For KKR, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, and Varun Chakravarthy scalped two wickets each.

"In hindsight, you always feel that you can take a little more time, we could have taken a little more time, we got a sense that the wicket changed a little bit post the first innings, I thought the wicket began stopping a little bit. Obviously, it was a used wicket, we were playing on the same wicket on which RCB played against Mumbai Indians. I think, towards the end, the wicket started getting tired so it started stopping a bit. In hindsight, we definitely felt we could have taken a little bit more time to adjust to the conditions, and then we could have gone to attack the bowlers," said Uthappa while replying to an ANI query during a virtual post-match press conference.

Rajasthan played their first two matches in Sharjah where the ground is not that big and the boundaries are really small. The Steve Smith-led side won its first two matches as the batsmen showed great form to register 200 plus scores.

When asked whether the side failed to adjust to the bigger ground at Dubai, Uthappa said: "We have played practice matches on the bigger grounds, I think it's about adjusting to the pace of the wicket as well, I think as we play more games here, we will get a better sense of the wicket. In the match against KKR, we got a sense of how the Dubai wicket plays, it is pretty similar to our practice wickets, I think our performance will only climb from here on.

In the match against KKR, the Royals opted to bowl first. Talking about this decision at the toss, Uthappa said: "Well, I think we chased a big score in the last game, there was confidence from that. We also felt that the wicket will play well. Like I said, in hindsight, we could have taken more time to adjust to the pace of the wicket, and then we could have looked to attack.

For KKR, Shubman Gill top-scored as he played a knock of 47 runs. Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell also played useful knocks of 34 and 24 respectively to take the side's score to 174/6.Rajasthan Royals will next take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on October 3 while KKR will lock horns with Delhi Capitals on the same day.

(ANI)

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