Yesterday’s win versus SRH gave KKR a much-needed Net-Run-Rate boost as they jumped from the bottom of the points table to 5th spot. Whether this was a spot jump or a long jump, time will tell.
Kolkata Knight Riders was just about to be shifted to Intensive Care Unit (I.C.U.). Suddenly all the vital body parameters started to come together just at the right time. The doctors happily proclaimed they could wait a little bit longer. For now, KKR stays in the general bed.
It has not been an ideal start for the defending champions in this year’s Indian Premier League. If they had lost against a power-packed Sunrisers Hyderabad line-up yesterday, they would need to win seven out of their remaining ten matches. The pressure would mount on the Chandrakant Pandits and the Ajinkya Rahanes. But much like Bollywood films (don’t be surprised, the King of Bollywood owns this franchise), KKR miraculously got a fresh lease of life yesterday.
Ten overs into their innings, KKR didn’t look the part though. The ball was stopping occasionally but not alarmingly. Stroke-making was a tad bit difficult but by no means this was a Chepauk surface. The turnaround started post the intermission (as we say in Bollywood films) when the two ‘Jawans’ (pun intended), Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh dealt decisive blows in the slog overs. So, what can KKR look forward to from here on? Let’s make a list.
- ‘Pitch perfect’ is a myth.
Clearly, after yesterday you can say this. All these controversies and talks around the pitch and look what happens. KKR’s third spinner, Moeen Ali, doesn’t get a bowl. What does this tell you? That all of your frontline bowlers stepped up last night. SRH was reeling at 9/3 at one point of time. All these three wickets were taken by faster bowlers. Much to my delight, the Man Of The Match went to Vaibhav Arora for his opening burst and later coming back to take out Heinrich Klaasen. He was assisted superbly by Harshit Rana at the other end. Yes, Varun Chakravarthy got three wickets, but surely, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan’s wickets were body blows for SRH from which they could never really recover. The bottom line – better team wins. Go out there and play your best possible cricket. On days when you fail, admit it and go back home. As the former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri said –‘pitch ko nikalo game se.’
- If you aim for the top, get your top-order sorted
Even after yesterday, I would say this. Sunil Narine is nowhere near where he was as an opener last season for KKR. Quinton De Kock has failed in three out of four games. When Narine sat out due to illness against Rajasthan Royals, the KKR management pulled off a bizarre move by sending Moeen Ali to open. When you have two established openers Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer (captain and vice-captain by the way) in your ranks, why would you obstinately pursue with the out of form opening combination? Last season, Narine and Phil Salt averaged around 43 as an opening combination with a strike rate of 200+. Forget the runs, this year the opening combination’s strike rate is reeling under 100.
- Top takes care of middle
Iyer has to bat up the order and it’s not only about the price tag, it’s because of his sheer ability which was on display yesterday. That innings of 60 runs completely took the wind out of SRH’s sails last night. Angkrish Raghuvanshi is batting consistently, but surely Iyer is more impactful than him? So, if any one of Rahane or Iyer opens, the middle-order muddle is taken care of automatically.
- Missing – Overseas fast bowler
Who can forget Mitchell Starc’s dream balls in the first Qualifier and the Final in last year’s IPL? Spencer Johnson has looked listless in his first three outings of the season. Moeen replaced him last night and fortunately, the match did not go to the slog overs. But if you are using Vaibhav and Harshit with the new ball, then you need to figure out your death-overs strategy. Who will bowl at the death? And most importantly, who is your sixth bowler? Andre Russell looked far from his best last night with the bowl as he kept dishing out leg stump short-pitched stuff to Kamindu Mendis. What happens when you play away games where you will need the sixth bowling option and another frontline fast bowler? Where is Anrich Nortje? Will he play or will he be a net bowler?
- Ajinkya Rahane – Captain Fantastic
A lot was said and written about Rahane before the IPL started. Leading the defending champions would be a tough task. But Rahane has come out with flying colours. His consistency with the bat has helped him immensely in marshalling his troupes. Except for the first game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, where Narine was not given a single over inside the Powerplays and the Moeen Ali call at the top of the order against Rajasthan Royals, Rahane has been spot on. He kept attacking with his frontline bowlers last night and the results showed immediately. As I wrote yesterday, intent separates champions from average teams. Captain Rahane showed intent yesterday.
- How’s the ticket price? High sir
It was a shocking attendance at the Eden Gardens yesterday with only around 34,000 turning up. KKR has gone through rough patches before but never have you seen Eden this empty for a home match. Clearly, tickets were overpriced and the KKR management needs to get their loyal fans back to the stadium for the Lucknow Super Giants match. KKR getting bowled for just 116 two days back didn’t help the fans either.
All said and done, yesterday’s win gave the Kolkata Knight Riders a much-needed Net-Run-Rate boost as they jumped from the bottom of the points table to fifth spot. Whether this was a spot jump or a long jump, time will tell.