IPL 2019 | What worked and what didn’t - Kolkata Knight Riders

Suraj Choudhari
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KKR raised high hopes with some valiant performances at the start of the season and a playoffs spot looked highly possible after first few matches. But the over-reliance on few individuals didn’t help their cause as SRH piped them in the race with a relatively better net run-rate.

After an emphatic start to the season, where they won four out of five games, KKR plummeted quickly. In fact, they had an RCB-like run in the middle losing six consecutive matches. Had they managed to win even one of those, particularly against RCB or RR at home, they would have made the playoffs. But as their assistant coach Simon Katich said at the end of the tournament, those defeats were bound to hurt them at some point and finishing fifth is probably what they deserved. Another factor that went against them was poor decision making at crunch moments. That's not to say that there weren't any positives.

What worked

Andre Russell’s red hot form

Their biggest positive was Andre Russell's murderous batting form but with that came an unhealthy reliance on the all-rounder. It didn't help as he often had very few overs to play with and was left to bail them out of tricky situations, rather than set matches up.

He finished the season with 556 runs under his belt at a blistering strike-rate of 204.81. In fact, he was the reason behind KKR’s successful start to the season, where his brilliance with the bat in three games out of five, helped KKR emerge victorious from seemingly dire situations.

Shubman Gill’s excellence at the top

Gill kick-started his IPL journey with a bang, smashing two sixes off Shakib Al Hasan to carry his side over the line alongside Russell. He later opened the batting with the same aplomb, amassing 189 runs from five innings at the top. 

His phenomenal performances as an opener also helped him win the Emerging Player of the Season award. Fair to say, Knight Riders erred in elevating him to the top so late in the tournament.

Nitish Rana’s brilliance

There is nothing more pleasing for a franchise than a domestic talent flourishing with the bat in the middle, it adds strength to the core. Rana’s prosperity in KKR’s middle-order was a testament to the said belief. This season, he punched above his weight and made an impact at whatever position he took guard. With 344 runs in his basket at an inspiring strike-rate of 146.38, Rana has certainly developed into a vital cog for KKR.

Talking about the other crops, Prasidh Krishna’s season nicely oscillated between occasional sparks of brilliance and mediocrity and so was the case with Chris Lynn. With the kind of reputation the Australian carries, not many would be pleased by his run this season. Sandeep Warrier looked impressive towards the business end of the tournament.

What didn’t work

Sunil Narine at top

Let’s be a little honest here. A bowler scoring quick runs is no less than a boon for any opposition and Sunil Narine’s evolution at the top was a revelation. In previous seasons, Narine’s cameo gave KKR the psychological edge along with some quick runs, which only put the oppositions on the back foot. His dismissal would only hamper the scorecard and not the mentality of the team as he was a tail-ender, who hardly got to bat. However, the same magic was seen to be wanting this season as Narine’s gun ran out of ammunition.

KKR’s middling spin bowling

KKR have banked heavily on their bowlers, especially the spin troika of Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla. Though they always had a fine pool of batsmen, their bowling have been the key reason behind their success, but a relaid Kolkata surface didn’t offer anything to the tweakers. KKR were too reluctant to make the changes and persisted with the misfiring trio for a long stretch. The spinners hardly tightened the noose around the oppositions leave alone the idea of picking wickets. Eventually, the looming axe fell on Kuldeep Yadav, whose poor numbers denied him from getting a go in the last five games. Chawla bowled well in patches with the new ball but conceded ample of runs in the middle.  

Poor decisions

It does not take any rocket science to figure out that your best batsman needs to face as many deliveries as possible. And by looking at the form Russell was in, he could have been utilised better. He was hitting those monstrous sixes at a ratio that was inversely proportional to Unadkat’s success.

In the all-important game against MI, which was a virtual knock-out, Russell walked out to bat when KKR were already in hot water and unfortunately, the golden duck didn’t help the side in any way.

Spineless pace attack

The KKR pace attack hardly had any confidence, though they were marred by injuries, the available strength hardly posed a threat with the ball. In fact, KKR had one of the worst bowling attacks in the tournament. Lockie Ferguson was everything but economical while Harry Gurney’s slower ones were easier to pick and Prasidh Krishna struggled for consistency. Russell had a modest season with the ball, yet he was the pick of bowlers, but with the kind of form his peers were in, the Caribbean had to do a lot more than what he did.

Dinesh Karthik and Robin Uthappa’s lean form

Unlike MS Dhoni or Shreyas Iyer, Karthik failed to lead the side with example and his 253 runs from the season say the rest of the story. To add to his woes, if one takes the unbeaten 97 out of the equation, Karthik’s number further sports a dreadful look.

Robin Uthappa's presence only adds solidity, but this season he fizzled out more often not. His most awful performance came in KKR’s last league stage encounter against MI, where he struggled to connect the harder he tried. 

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