The irony in Kolkata Knight Riders’ 39-run defeat in their IPL match against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Monday was that the home team got a pitch that complemented their strengths. The Eden Gardens surface for the game was a bit dry and the ball wasn’t quite coming on to the bat. The strip set the perfect stage for a battle of the spinners. GT won that hands down.
KKR picked an extra tweaker in Moeen Ali, who gave away 27 runs in his three overs without a wicket. The team’s famed spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy conceded 69 runs between them in eight overs and went wicketless. Compare this with the GT spinners… Rashid Khan regained his mojo and toyed with Andre Russell to return with the figures of 2/25 from his four overs. Sai Kishore was even more impressive – 1/19 from three. Washington Sundar was a tad expensive, 1/36, but took the wicket of a well-set Ajinkya Rahane.
“The pitch was a bit tricky. The KKR spinners, also, bowled very well. But we kept taking wickets,” Kishore said at the post-match press conference. Quality of batsmanship made the difference. Shubman Gill was making batting feel like music with the lightness of touch. His range helped him pierce the gaps. Sai Sudharsan was an able ally at the other end. On a pitch that tested bastmen’s skills, the two GT openers dominated the KKR bowling by picking length early. They stitched a 114-run opening partnership, which eventually was the difference against a side that loses its batting muscles when the bowlers, and conditions, start asking tough questions.
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Listless bowling and lack of batting firepower saw the Knight Riders lose again at home, after Gill and Sudharsan laid the platform for a formidable total. The visitors now sit alone at the top of the table.
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It was a fairly lengthy wait before Dwayne Bravo turned up for the post-match press conference. But once he was there, the KKR mentor didn’t beat around the bush. “Nothing is wrong with the wicket,” said Bravo with candour. “I didn’t come here to talk about the wicket. I think both teams played on the (same) wicket. You know, we didn’t play a good game of cricket. I just felt that they (GT) played better than us.”
KKR will have to introspect, and it can’t be done in denial. Bravo rightly addressed the confidence issue. “Our batters are low on confidence. Runs bring confidence. Form brings confidence. And we, at the moment, to be honest, don’t have that confidence. But the guys are preparing well and practicing well. They are not sitting back and missing practice. So as coaches, as a group, we cannot fault the effort. It’s just not working out in the middle.”
Russell’s form is proving to be a major concern. The Jamaican, for so long the team’s X-factor, was sent in at No. 6 in this game. A few lusty blows against Washington marked a good beginning. But Gill as a captain was proactive, quickly turning to the leg-spin of Rashid. And that was that for Russell. He now has 55 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 119.56.
“Russell is not the only one who is struggling at the moment,” said Bravo. “I don’t think we actually as a team batted properly.”
He was spot on. KKR’s problems start at the top and run through the middle. “The IPL is a tough tournament, and when you don’t start well, batsmen go into a period where they lose confidence,” added Bravo. “That’s what’s happening at the moment.” Winning five of their remaining six group league games would be a Herculean task for a misfiring side. Changes might be on the cards. Bravo said as much.