KKR vs SRH: In an IPL of hard-hitting, Knight Riders find identity with smart skills
Before their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were in deep trouble. As defending champions, they were languishing at the bottom of the table and needed something special to turn their fortunes around. On Thursday, KKR rose like a phoenix, dominating the game and handing SRH their biggest defeat in IPL history—by 80 runs—at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
More important than the victory itself was that the Knight Riders found an identity after struggling to establish one earlier in the season. KKR had previously won against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati but suffered defeats to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI).
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The heavy losses to MI and RCB saw them slip to the bottom of the table. Ahead of Thursday’s match, mentor Dwayne Bravo pointed out that KKR’s batters were being a bit reckless and needed to be smarter in their approach. It was clear that Bravo wasn’t pleased with the team’s batting performance.
“They’re a bit reckless because they play on those flat pitches,” Bravo had said earlier in the pre-match press conference.
“Yes, we are an aggressive batting line-up but that’s not cricket. My message to the batsmen especially is that the basics of the game are still required. The smarts of the game are still required. These guys just need to apply themselves a bit more and I think they’re getting to understand that,” Bravo added.
Bravo’s words seemed to have resonated with KKR, as their batters displayed a much more clinical approach against SRH.
Knight Riders being smart
KKR faced some early jitters after being asked to bat first, with Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine both dismissed quickly, leaving the team in trouble. Just when it seemed like KKR might post another under-par score in Kolkata, they mounted a strong recovery with their backs against the wall.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi and skipper Ajinkya Rahane steadied the ship early on before gradually increasing the tempo. The duo put together a crucial 81-run partnership for the third wicket, providing KKR with the foundation to build upon. When both batters fell in quick succession, it seemed like KKR had lost their momentum and would have to start afresh.
However, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh stepped in, ensuring KKR not only regained momentum in the death overs but also surpassed the 200-run mark. Despite the Sunrisers threatening a few times to make quick inroads, the KKR batters remained calm and smart, not allowing their opponents to dictate the game in the City of Joy.
‘Learnt from mistakes’
Rahane was also impressed with the way KKR batted, noting that his team had learned from their mistakes in the previous game. He mentioned that he felt a score of around 170-180 would have been ideal on the Eden pitch but credited Rinku and Venkatesh’s partnership for guiding the Knights to an even bigger total.
“When we lost two wickets, the discussion was about consolidating and then when we have wickets in hand after 11-12 overs, guys lower down the order can score as many runs as possible. We learnt a lot from the mistakes,” Rahane said in the post-match press conference.
“When Rinku and Venkatesh were batting, it was about getting 50-60 runs in 30 balls. It was all about playing it normal for 15 overs and then taking it on. Initially, we thought 170-180 would be a really good total on this wicket, we got extra (because of the Rinku-Venkatesh partnership),” Rahane added.
KKR, once at the bottom of the table, climbed to the fifth spot after improving their net run rate to +0.070. However, the Knights still have plenty of work ahead if they are to break into the top four and maintain their position there.
The Knight Riders would next be up against Rishabh Pant’s Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Tuesday, April 8 at home.