Finch, Steyn Reflects on KKR’s Recent Tough Loss Against LSG in IPL 2026

Kolkata Knight Riders were stunned by Mukul Choudhary’s onslaught in the last IPL clash at Eden Gardens. His innings gave Lucknow Super Giants a stunning win, disrupting all the bowling plans of KKR in the end. Reflecting on this defeat, former South African pacer Dale Steyn said that it will hurt Kolkata because they had the match in their hand.

"It's going to hurt. It is hard to pick yourself up. You have had a rough season. You almost feel like by the 16th, 17th over, at least 18th over, the game is yours. You know, a little bit of smart cricket… you bowl three balls, three extra balls to Avesh [Khan, Choudhary's partner], and the game is done.” said Dale Steyn.

“That's where it is right there. But those extra deliveries go to Mukul. He hits them for boundaries. And that's your season pretty much." added Dale Steyn.

Aaron Finch on the other hand questioned the batting performance of Kolkata Knight Riders. He said some of their players were looking out of form, which is why the team couldn’t produce big runs in the final overs.

"There was a couple of batters that looked like they were seriously searching for form. When Cameron Green [32 not out in 24 balls] first walked in, it was like he was so unsure about his game. Do I play a big shot? Do I just accumulate for a bit? And what that does, you end up losing all your intent. You face a lot of dot balls. It builds pressure.” said Aaron Finch.

"Rinku [Singh, 4 in seven balls], on the other hand, he just looked totally out of sorts. It was almost like he wasn't watching the ball as closely as what he could have. He's looking to play the shot, but all his weight is going away from the ball. It was really unusual, which is something that I haven't seen from him before. There was a batting line-up that looked short on confidence in that middle order." added Aaron Finch.

Daley Steyn also criticized the batting intent of Cameron Green, saying he built a lot of pressure by playing dot balls.

"Cameron Green, I'm thinking Digvesh [Rathi] bowling to him and he's literally just blocking it back. And I'm listening to the commentators say, 'he's waiting for his match-up'. But who? You've got to take guys on. Who's the match-up? He's just patting balls back. In a period where you feel, even if you face ten balls or 12 balls, you should be in now. You should be really going. It doesn't fill me with confidence watching that." said Daley Steyn.