Kolkata, May 21 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Manish Pandey revealed that he stayed prepared and waited for his chance in the last four games before the opportunity finally arrived to deliver a crucial innings as the three -time winner defeated Mumbai Indians by four wickets at Eden Gardens.

Pandey played a composed knock of 45 off 33 balls on a difficult two-paced surface as KKR chased down 148 in 18.5 overs to keep their playoff hopes alive. He also stitched crucial partnerships with skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Rovman Powell during the tense chase.

Speaking after the match, Pandey said he remained mentally prepared despite spending the previous four games waiting on the sidelines as he was placed down in the order.

“Great opportunity for me, as you rightly said. For four games, I was padded up, waiting for my chances. But I think the way we batted the last four games was unbelievable, and you kept on pushing me down the order. That’s completely fine,” he told Abhishek Nayar in a video released by IPL on X.

“As we say, we keep changing, we use the opportunity left, right, and middle. That’s the game plan. When I was told I was batting at number three, I started preparing myself as soon as I was coming out of the ground,” he added.

Pandey credited Rahane’s guidance during the chase and highlighted the importance of building partnerships on a challenging wicket.

“Talking to Ajju (Ajinkya Rahane), he kept telling me about having a small partnership and watching the ball closely. That’s what I did. The partnership between me and Ajju and then me and Rovman was really crucial. It took us to the stage where 25 were needed off the last 25 balls,” he added.

Pandey further spoke about his preparation and the importance of trusting the process despite limited opportunities earlier in the season.

“It’s an everyday process. Preparing for IPL, you’re coming after the domestic season. For me, it was about working on fitness and spending time on the wicket. I was preparing for a long time for this tournament,” he said.

“You guys had shown a lot of trust in me as well. I wanted to make sure I was preparing really well whenever the opportunity came. Process is very important. You keep playing well, you keep working because you never know when the chance comes, and you have to grab it from both ends,” he added.

Earlier, KKR’s bowlers restricted the Mumbai Indians to 147/8, with Cameron Green and Saurabh Dubey picking up two wickets each. Powell later added a quickfire 40 before Rinku sealed the chase with a boundary as KKR stayed alive in the race for the playoffs.

–IANS

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