Disappointed with the team's away loss against RCB, Kolkata Knight Riders' Dutch import Ryan ten Doeschate today said that the pressure is on the Gautam Gambhir-led side as the IPL cricket tournament slowly moves towards the business end.
KKR slipped to the fourth of the table after losing the 10-overs-a-side rain-truncated game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. With 4 losses and 4 wins from 9 outings, KKR are relying on 2 home games.
"We got four big games to go - we got two home games which are going to be important. We are pretty good at home. We are at the business end of the tournament, so there is going to be a pressure on us," said Doeschate.
"It is not a bad time to find form and your groove. We have done fairly well to sustain ourselves after losing close games but we are certainly are up there among the leading pack. Next ten days is going to decide our fate," he added.
Asked whether playing four matches in seven days troubling KKR, Doeschate said, "No, that's not been an issue at all because every other teams also have same schedules."
Doeschate said truncated games are part and parcel of the sport, which goes either way - in the team's favour or against it.
"We started off well with the bat and ball, but we could not capitalise. It is a part of the sport. Games such as these, they go either way," he said.
Replying to a query, Doeschate said setting a target of 112 for RCB was enough, but not a guarantee for the visitors to win because the opposition had Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers in their line-up.
"We thought it was enough, but looking at their batting lineup - when they have players like Gayle, AB De Villiers and Kohli - and the way Mandeep played there - you know you are never guaranteed of a result," he said.
The 34-year-old admitted that the road ahead is going to be tough as the tournament slowly moves towards the business end.
"It is becoming very tight for the teams that are placed in the middle of the points-table. RCB has gone ahead of us and SunRisers Hyderabad, the way they are playing at the moment, can also sneak up as well," he said.
