Kolkata: Reeling under an agonising two-run defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders would look to quickly redeem themselves when they face the same opponents in the return leg Indian Premier League match on Thursday.
The loss against the CSK came only on April 28, and it would be a tough task for the KKR outfit to put the disappointment behind and bounce back against the table-toppers.
Before last night’s game, KKR had also lost their previous match, against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Sitting at No. 3 in the table, the defending champions need to regroup fast before they slip out of contention.
In comparison, one of the most consistent teams in IPL, CSK juggernaut have begun to roll on after winning nine home matches on the trot.
Be it Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy in clever field settings and bowling changes to CSK fielders all-out approach, the two-time title winners ticked all the boxes defending the small target of 135 against KKR.
They would now look to continue their winning run despite the absence of key spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who split his middle finger of the bowling hand while fielding and could not complete his spell last night.
The CSK’ line-up will finally see a change, as left-arm spinner Pawan Negi or leggie Rahul Sharma could fill in the void. Dhoni may also bring in Irfan Pathan in place of Ishwar Pandey, who leaked 18 runs from his two overs.
While Ashwin will be sorely missed at the Eden Gardens tomorrow, it would surely brighten KKR’s chances.
The KKR, on the other hand, have a lot to ponder upon the batting, be it the order or composition.
It is no secret that bowling has been their main strength, and in absence of Sunil Narine too, KKR did well to restrict the Super Kings to 134 for six. But it was their self destructive batting that messed up the chase.
Besides their accuracy in bowling, it was also the batsmen who had complimented well last season to clinch the crown. But the likes of Robin Uthappa, the last edition’s top run-getter, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan are yet to convert their starts, and the batting has so far relied heavily on skipper Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir, who has been their leading run-getter with three half-centuries till now, got out for a duck yesterday and KKR eventually lost the match, chasing the modest target.
At No. 6, Ryan ten Doeschate led the chase but did not get adequate support from the likes of Yadav or Pathan, who’s inclusion in the team is a big surprise.
Despite his repeated failure, the KKR think-tank has been backing the man from Baroda, but so far he has looked just a shadow of his past.
The defending champions look an ordinary team without the duo of Shakib al Hasan, who’s gone back to serve national team, Bangladesh, and Sunil Narine, whose report of a retest after being called again for suspected bowling is yet to be out.
Ten Doeschate is doing reasonably well but he needs to bat up the order to build a platform for the likes of Yadav, Andre Russell, who are more of finishers.
On brighter side, KKR bowling did an excellent job even in absence of Narine as his replacement Brad Hogg, who became the oldest IPL player at 44 yesterday, did well.
On a slow pitch with some visible cracks, KKR bowlers responded to Gambhir’s decision to field by restricting the star studded CSK to a modest total.
The devastating duo of Brendon McCullum and Dwyane Smith had given CSK yet another explosive start with 42 for no loss after 4.2 overs, but the trio of Piyush Chawla, Hogg and Russell handcuffed the hosts in the middle overs, sharing five wickets among them, giving away 70 in their 12 overs.
Hence, batting would be KKR’s prime concern when they look to return to winning ways at home, where they are yet to taste victory since the IPL-8 opener against Mumbai Indians on April 8.
However, rains may play spoilsport again tomorrow. There were heavy rains and thunderstorm yesterday too, and the regional Met office has forecast more showers in the next 48 hours.
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Teams
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (capt), Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Piyush Chawla, Umesh Yadav, Brad Hogg, Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel, Azhar Mahmood, Johan Botha, Veer Pratap Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sumit Narwal, Sheldon Jackson, Aditya Garhwal, K C Cariappa and Vaibhav Rawal.
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (capt), Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadejs, Mohit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Ashish Nehra, Kyle Abott, Samuel Badree, Matt Henry, John Hastings, Michael Hussey, Mithun Manhas, Pawan Negi, Rahul Sharma, Ankush Bains, Irfan Pathan, Pratyush Singh, Baba Aparajith, Ronit More and Ekalavya Dwivedi.