New Delhi [India], May 26 (ANI): Defending champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), closed the curtains on their campaign with a loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday evening.

Giving his honest assessment of the result and the team's performances this season, captain Ajinkya Rahane shared, 'This season for us, it was kind of up and down. We had our moments, we have our chances - and I've said this earlier, that as a unit we didn't play really well. But again, in this format, that's how it goes. If you win the close matches, those make the difference.'

Further reflecting on the team's preparation and performances throughout the season, Rahane mentioned, 'As a captain, what I saw and felt was that, preparation wise, everyone tried their best. It's not easy when you win a championship and come into the next season to defend the championship. All the teams have prepared well, and as a team, we tried our best. What I can say is that we'll come back stronger next year.

Despite a tough campaign for the bowlers, the captain backed his teammates for their efforts throughout the season. Rahane said, 'It was a mixed bag for our bowlers, but I thought the bowlers did well. The wickets were really good for the batters, that's why there were so many 200+ scores, but throughout the season, as a bowling unit, we did really well.'

'There will be games when the bowlers will go for runs in this format but as long as the thinking was clear from them, that was important. I thought Harshit, Vaibhav, Varun, Sunny (Narine), all the bowlers who have played their thinking was really clear. So, as a bowling unit, I think we did decently well', he added.

Assessing the team's batting performance, Rahane explained how some of the batters' set expectations for themselves ahead of the season.

'Sometimes when you have a couple of good seasons, as an individual, you put a lot of pressure of expectations on yourself. I feel that was the case for most of the batters - to prove how good they are - and that's completely natural. When you're doing well, it's normal to have those expectations from yourself and the people. There was a lot to learn for us as a team this season,' the 36-year-old noted.

The KKR captain backed his teammates to learn from the experience and bounce back stronger next season. 'It can happen to any player. Unfortunately, two or three players were going through that patch of form in our team, and that's why we couldn't do well enough in our batting unit. These players are experienced enough to handle this situation, and I'm sure they will come back stronger next year', he concluded. (ANI)