Yes, the performance of the Kolkata batsmen was not bad. Lucknow scored 238 runs in the allotted overs, which was a huge target. However the Kolkata batsmen put in a great performance, Kolkata eventually scored 234 and lost by 4 runs. The match was very exciting towards the end, especially with Rinku Singh batting brilliantly. Rinku Singh was unbeaten on 38 off 15 balls. Now the reason for Kolkata's defeat was that they lost quick wickets towards the end, which put them under pressure. Everyone expects good performance from Kolkata's attacking batsman Andre Russell, but Andre Russell is not performing well in this tournament. However, the result of yesterday's match was as per my expectations and I enjoyed watching the game.

Mitchell Marsh has been in terrific form throughout this season. Against the Kolkata Knight Riders, he scored 81 from just 48 balls, and before that 60 against the Mumbai Indians, 52 versus Sunrisers Hyderabad and also 72 against the Delhi Capitals. And despite all this, he is not the top-scorer. Nicholas Pooran has 288 runs to his name so far, while Marsh has just 265. Hopefully in the next few matches he will be able to overtake Pooran. No one else has more than 200 to their name.

Rinku Singh could not be winner of this match but he played very well in this match and he played with strike rate of 253 and he could not do that for which he has fame . His partner played 9 balls and made only 10 runs and that was big loss because many players are in the pavilion and we saw bowlers in the end . Venkatesh Iyer could not end in this match and he gave wicket early and he should try for century because that was best opportunity for him . The turning point was when Andre Russell became out in this match and now responsibility was on the head of Rinku Singh only and he could not finish this match and team lost the match by 4 runs.That was high score match and both teams played well in this match and we liked that match because we saw long long sixes in this match.

Hong Kong Vs Kuwait

The 2nd game of Quadrangular Twenty20 Series was played between Hong Kong and Kuwait. Hong Kong opened the inning with Zeeshan Ali and Anshy Rath with 4 runs partnership. Zeeshan Ali lost wicket very early at just 4 runs but his partner Anshy Rath performed outclass with 76 runs. Nizakat Khan played one down with an average performance giving next chance to Babar Hayat to bat. Hong Kong played well with a target of 176 runs. In the second inning, Ireland opened with Clinto Anto and Ravija Sandaruwan with 39 runs partnership. Mohammad Aslam was the best performer contributing 55 runs to chase down the target. However, Hong Kong's  bowler Yasim Murtaza got 3 wickets but couldn't stop the Kuwait from chasing the target. Kuwait won this game by 4 runs and Mohammad Aslam was credited for this victory.

Chasing such a big target, Kolkata finally fought and came very close to victory, but the batsmen of Kolkata Knight Riders have to be praised, but if the bowlers of Kolkata Knight Riders could have bowled with a little more responsibility and if they could have kept the opposition between 210 and 220 runs, then maybe Kolkata Knight Riders would have won this match. As time goes on, the journey to qualify for the playoffs is getting tougher for some teams. This season I see a lot of big teams who are not performing very well and are at the bottom of the points table. Such as Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and many other strong teams. I am most surprised by the performance of Sunrisers Hyderabad this season because with this same team they qualified for the finals last season but they are not able to do anything like that this season.

Kolkata managed to score 234 while the target was 239. I think Kolkata definitely showed great performance in batting. There is no mistake in their batting and even though they could not win the match according to the score, they did well. While there is no room to blame the batsmen, if the Kolkata bowlers could have done better, they could have won this match.

In the match, Andre Russell bowled only 2 overs and spend 32 runs. Another bowler Spencer Johnson bowled 3 overs and spend 46 runs. Moreover, the rest of them were quite expansive. Therefore, it is natural that the responsibility for the defeat in that match will be placed solely on the bowlers.

Nicholas Pooran played a big innings of 87 runs off 36 balls in the mentioned match and the score in the match was quite high. If the Kolkata bowlers could have returned him very quickly in that match, there would have been a possibility of winning the match. Normally, in T20 matches, if a team can play one or two overs aggressively, the situation changes, and if a bowler can deliver one or two overs well, the match can go under their control.

Maxwell had one good season in IPL, and that was more than a decade ago. Anyway, he is already 36 years old and doesn't have a lot many years of his playing career left. The fact that his performance is down is one thing, and then he got demerit points for himself and his team during the match against Chennai Super Kings. So far he has scored a total of 31 runs from 4 matches for his new franchise (Punjab Kings), and he has picked up just three wickets while being quite on the expensive side. 

Given that the performance at the IPL is the key for national team selection, I would expect Sai Sudharsan to be back in the squad some time soon. He made his debut for India some time back, playing 3 ODIs and 1 T20I. His matches came during a tough tour in South Africa, and even then he did well with the bat (that was sometime in December 2023). At the moment, his ODI batting average stands at 63.50. Then without any valid reason, he was dropped from the squad.

RCB is playing their next match today and so far, I see them losing the game. Ten overs have been finished, and they are still on 90 with the loss of four wickets. I think Royal Challengers Bengaluru should play with a strategy. Their openers, Virat Kohli and Phil Salt, went for early boundaries to get runs and after doing the power hitting, they lost their wickets. They should go in sequence.

First, they should try to understand the pitch conditions and then go for the boundaries. However, they made a mistake and cannot recover it. Now, it is dependent on their bowlers. Let's see if they do this. By the way there are still 10 overs left. If their middle order plays well here, they may still score high.