JOIN USKnight Riders have lost two matches so far in IPL IV and both of them came while chasing, against Chennai Super Kings and Kochi Tuskers Kerala, going down by two and six runs respectively.
“As of now, it’s not a worry and that could be a worry if it happens in more than one match. But we certainly need to reassess our approach while chasing and we need to approach our chase in a different way,” Whatmore told reporters on Thursday.
Whatmore also said every defeat was a chance to work on areas that need attention. “Obviously, it’s not a nice feeling when you lose. But it gives us an opportunity to re-examine, re-analyse and reshape our ways. It helps us understand the areas that we need to do better,” he said.
The Australian refused to blame the nature of the Eden pitch, a rank turner, for their defeat against Kochi on Wednesday. “We have no problem with the pitch and it can’t be taken as a reason for our defeat against Kochi. There are a number of other reasons for the match going against us that night and we need to address those issues. It’s futile to hide behind the nature of wicket,” Whatmore said.
Explosive batsman Yusuf Pathan suffered a knee strain in the match against Kochi while patrolling the outfield and Whatmore hoped the Baroda man will be available for the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on the morrow.
“Yusuf is being assessed. He had a few hits at nets and we are positive about him. We all know what damage Yusuf can do with the bat. It’s just that he didn’t get that many chances in the last few matches. Hopefully, he will be ready by tomorrow,” he said.
There has been a lot talk about KKR not bidding for former captain Chris Gayle and how the Jamaican, who scored 292 runs at a strike rate of 158 in nine matches last season for KKR, might treat Friday’s match as grudge game. However, Whatmore downplayed that talk. “It’s wonderful that he got a chance to enter the IPL through Bangalore. But for us he’s just one of the opposition players.”