Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders are not too worried about their opening match defeat in the Indian Premier League and are hoping to bounce back in their clash against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Wednesday, said bowling coach Bharat Arun.
The Knight Riders lost by seven wickets against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the tournament opener on March 22 while the Royals were given a 44-run drubbing by Sunrisers Hyderabad the following day.
"As a team, we are not too worried about it (first game). It's always good to win the first match, you gain the momentum. But there were a lot of positives from the first game, some lessons to be learnt from there," Arun said at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
"Just being game number one can happen, we could have capitalised, we could have got more runs had we not lost wickets towards the end of our batting. Whatever you do there is always an opportunity to bowl better. But this team is not too worried about it, we will learn from what happened in the last game and try to get batter."
Arun is also not bothered about big hitters Andre Russell and Rinku Singh not contributing much in KKR's total of 174 for 8, which RCB overhauled with 22 balls remaining.
"Sport is about failing. You fail more often, then you succeed. Of course, champions like Russell, I think it must be weighing in his mind that he failed last game and he is out to prove every single game. We are also hoping that he will really come good in tomorrow's game.
"Rinku has bated beautifully in the games leading up to the tournament. We are not too worried about his form."
He also felt that every team in the IPL is well-balanced and the ones which do better in crucial moments of the game will win.
"Every team is batting well, getting and chasing 250-plus scores. You can't say this team is better than the other team. Every team is evenly balanced, batting and bowling pretty well.
"Teams that snatches those crucial moments at any given point of time is going to win. How challenged you are to snatch those crucial moments of the game is important.
"All teams have some really fantastic batters. There is no point targeting one, we have to look at the whole team and devise a strategy accordingly. Our game plan is to win."
Asked about the pitch at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, he said, "We have not had a look at the wicket but it seems good. The conditions are excellent. The outfield looks really good for us, so we hope to have a very good contest.
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