We may have got away with Kohli wicket: Phil Salt

PTI, Apr 22, 2024, 5:05 PM IST

Kolkata Knight Riders cricketer Phil Salt during a press conference, at Royal Calcutta Golf Club, in Kolkata. (Credit: PTI Photo)

Kolkata: It was a rub of the green call that Virat Kohli was dismissed off a high full toss and Kolkata Knight Riders managed to eke out a narrow one-run win in their high-scoring IPL match against RCB on Sunday, says stumper-batter Phil Salt.

The new Hawk-Eye technology to determine no-balls for height was used when TV umpire Michael Gough deemed a waist-high delivery from KKR’s Harshit Rana fair.

Kohli was in full flow, scoring a brisk 18 runs off just seven balls, before Rana took a return catch to dismiss the star batter, as it became a pivotal moment in RCB’s narrow one-run loss while chasing a challenging target of 223 at Eden Gardens.

“It’s split opinion, we know that. From our point of view, we feel like we may have got away with one there. It’s the rub of the greens, one of those calls,” said the world No 2 T20I batter at the Knight Golf event here.

The Englishman further said leveraging technology in this manner is ultimately beneficial for the game as he hinted at the possibility of a future review to assess the effectiveness of these technological advancements.

“They brought that data in, the no-ball data, for exactly that purpose. I feel like in 12 months’ time maybe there’ll be some sort of review. Is it working? Is it not working? Is it a new thing to the game?

“But personally, from a player’s point of view, any time you’re using data and technology to be more precise and get the right decisions, that’s a good thing for the game,” Salt added.

Salt and Sunil Narine, the two KKR openers, have scored the bulk of runs (535 runs from seven innings) for the team who have won five from their seven matches to be in the forefront of a playoff spot.

“It’s great batting with Sunil, he is a very, very low-key chill guy. He’s got a very different sort of skill set when he’s opening the batting, as opposed to, up and down the order.

“I suppose one of the good things for me is he takes the pressure off, and I don’t have to strike at a rate of 200 in my first 10 balls. Some games I might, but I don’t have to.

“Normally, one of us gets going, and the other one feeds the strike. So, if we get a good start, we get a couple of boundaries away. You know, we can produce really big power plays, which is something that we’ve done.”

They have went about their ways with a meticulous approach, picking the right bowler to attack and relied on match-ups, Salt said.

“Our conversations are mainly, who’s going to take what ball, you know, who likes to match up, left arm spin, right arm pace, all that sort of a things.

“Normally one of us who wants to put their hand up and take that arm. We keep it very, very simple.”

Narine has been a revelation with the bat at the top of the order as the KKR spinner who was known as a pinch-hitter, has batted this time with poise and patience.

Narine struck his maiden T20 century, scoring 109 against Rajasthan Royals the other day.

Gauti inspires confidence in Narine: Tendo

KKR fielding coach Ryan Ten Doeschate, a member of their 2014 IPL title winning team under Gautam Gambhir, credited Narine’s transformation to the former skipper who is now the mentor of the side.

“To be dead honest, I think Gauti did convince Sunil to open the batting and that also comes from the chemistry they have. They’ve worked together. Sunil played under him. I think it was a pretty easy.

“We’ve tried to get that up to order in other competitions as well. And he hasn’t done it. But for whatever reason, Gambhir inspires a lot of confidence in Sunil. And he was happy to take the job on and hopefully that can continue,” he added.