Limp — that’s how I would describe this performance. From 93 all out to this latest debacle, KKR continues to plummet into a darkness of its own making.
From the start of the season, the focus should have been inward. Introspection should have been the watchword — identifying issues and solving them, particularly the batting. Instead, the noise outside dictated the narrative.
KKR won the toss on what was described as a dry pitch by the captain. They played an extra spinner in Moeen Ali. Not a single spinner picked up a wicket. Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan played them with ease, and the result was 200 on the board from Gujarat Titans. That’s when the game was effectively done. Few believed KKR could chase that total, and with a batting line-up as brittle as theirs, they were right.
Ajinkya Rahane was, once again, the lone warrior of sorts at the top. And while Andre Russell did manage to hit a few off Washington Sundar, the asking rate had already touched 15. Just as the burly Jamaican seemed ready to explode, Gill made his move — he brought back Rashid Khan. What followed was inevitable. Of the four balls Russell faced from Rashid, he could — or should — have been dismissed three times. Eventually, he threw it away. And that was the end of KKR’s hopes.
Is there a way back from here? Can this campaign still be salvaged? In 2021, KKR pulled off a miraculous turnaround in Dubai and reached the final. But miracles aren’t everyday occurrences, and this season looks all but finished.
Why should Rovman Powell sit out — fans will keep asking. Why aren’t exciting young talents like Luvnith Sisodia being given opportunities? But then, such questions have no answers if there is no willingness to accept that something is fundamentally broken.
The truth is, Chandrakant Pandit isn’t the same coach without Gautam Gambhir. And it’s time for every KKR fan to accept it.