Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta sympathised with Kolkata Knight Riders after their fourth defeat in succession in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Saturday night. KKR went down by 6 wickets against Rajasthan Royals in Match 18 at the Wankhede Stadium to fall down to the last place on the points table in IPL 2021.

KKR's batting performance against RR came under scrutiny after the game as they managed to score just 133 runs for the loss of 9 wickets after being asked to bat first by Sanju Samson on a good batting pitch which has witnessed some high-scoring matches already this season.

The KK top-order failed again as openers Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana managed to add just 24 runs in the powerplay, Eoin Morgan was run out without facing a single ball while the rest also found it hard to score against the RR pacers throughout the first innings.Dropped catches and misfields by the KKR players made matters worse for them as RR chased down the below-par score with an over to spare.

"I don't think they are disinterested, that's being too harsh on them. All of them want to do well for the franchise, themselves, for their individual future because a lot is at stake for the Indian and international players here."Someone like Shubman, he would want to be there for the Indian side at the T20 World Cup. Varun Chakravarthy missed out on his international debut because of his injury, Nitish Rana was extremely close to making the national team as well. There is a lot at stake for the Indians here. It's not just about the tournament, it's about there future as well." Dasgupta told Sports Today.Dasgupta also said that the consecutive defeats has had a huge impact on KKR's confidence, but they shouldn't lose heart and instead seek inspiration from within the team to lift their spirits.

"Their body-language tells you the confidence level which is obviously low when you have lost 4 games on the bounce it can be high. You can understand what they are going through and that's why it is imperative that the dressing room environment is looked into so that they are happy, not too worried, making sure that they are in a better mental space.

"The missed catches, misfields just tells you that they need a pick me up. This current situation is not easy for them. But the tournament is far from over, they need to win quite a few from here on, but they are very much in the race. It's way too early to lose heart, and I'm sure they won't lose heart. They are a good side and have the experience as well," Dasgupta said.KKR are currently languishing in 8th place with just 1 win from 4 games and will next face the Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on April 26.