Flustered KKR look to get season back on track

It was only a week ago that the Kolkata Knight Riders were sitting merrily with their legs outstretched, at the very top of the table. They’d won three of their first four matches, and looked like a team that knew the formula to churn out wins consistently. They were not firing on all cylinders but encounters like the Mumbai Indians one tended to suggest that they had the ability to overpower their opponents even on relatively ‘bad’ days due to the sheer quality of individuals they had at their disposal.

Well, how much things have changed in a week. 

Shreyas Iyer’s side are currently on a two-match losing streak and find themselves sixth on the table, with them also losing the edge they had on the Net Run Rate front. With every match, they’ve worsened as a side instead of improving, and suddenly it feels like there are a multitude of issues that need addressing. 

Whether they address the evident issues immediately or not, what should be at the very top of KKR’s agenda is arresting this slide they’re currently on. And it won’t be easy against a Rajasthan Royals side that, despite enduring a loss in its previous encounter, has looked far more complete and convincing. 

KKR’s opening woes, and the need for Venkatesh Iyer to sizzle

As soon as Alex Hales pulled out of IPL 2022, you feared for the Knight Riders. Hales’ withdrawal left a big void at the very top of the order, significantly weakening the top-order.

Considering that, the numbers put up by KKR on the opening front, so far this season, has not been surprising. Their average of 19.8 has been the third-worst behind CSK and Gujarat, and their strike rate of 101.7 has been the worst amongst all teams. Finch has had just one game to date, but Ajinkya Rahane ended up flopping big time, averaging 16.00 in 5 games while striking at 100.00.

What’s been strange, though, is just how much Venkatesh Iyer has struggled. Breakthrough star from last season, Iyer has looked like a shadow of his 2021 self. The southpaw has struck at 94.7 in the first six overs — third slowest in the league behind Faf and Williamson — and his average of 17.75 inside the powerplay is the worst among all batters who have faced a minimum of 75 balls in the phase. He’s inspired absolutely no confidence whatsoever and has, for the most part, looked completely disorganized and lost.

In particular, Iyer has struggled against pacers angling the ball away from him, keeping the line around fourth/fifth stump. In that region, his strike rate has been alarmingly low, and 4 of his 5 dismissals have also come in that area. 

With Boult (who should be fit for Monday’s clash), Prasidh and Kuldeep Sen all capable of angling the ball away from the leftie at pace, Iyer is guaranteed to endure a tough time against the Royals.

But KKR desperately need him to find a way to overcome this second season syndrome. 

RR need more than just Buttler and Hetmyer 

Rajasthan have made quite a convincing start to the season, winning three of their first five matches. But until now, the batting has been carried by only two players: Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer. 

With 272 and 197 runs to their names respectively, Buttler and Hetmyer are the top two run-getters for RR this season. Both the overseas batters have averaged over 65 and have struck at over 150. Outside Buttler and Hetmyer, though, Rajasthan’s batting has almost been non-existent.

In particular, the Indian core — Samson, Padikkal, Jaiswal and Parag — have disappointed big time. Both Samson and Padikkal have averaged in the 20s and have registered just one fifty-plus score between them, while young Jaiswal had to be dropped after three consecutive failures. 

Jaiswal’s replacement — Rassie van der Dussen — has however turned out to be an even bigger disappointment, posting scores of 6 and 4 in his first two games despite the situations being tailor-made for his calmness. As far as Riyan Parag is concerned, Rajasthan have used him quite bizarrely, sending him below R Ashwin multiple times and exclusively deploying him as a finisher. 

Parag, at least, has valid reasons for why he hasn’t been able to deliver, but the same cannot be said about Samson and Padikkal, both of whom have underperformed. Keep in mind, both batters are now batting at their respective favorite positions — Padikkal opening and Samson No.3.

If Rajasthan are to sustain this early success, collect wins on a regular basis and qualify for the playoffs, they will need their Indian core to come to the party. Buttler and Hetmyer will only be able to do so much.

Bowling stocks outside Umesh and Narine a concern for KKR

If Rajasthan have been carried by two players on the batting front, in the case of KKR, it has been two individuals carrying the bowling: Umesh Yadav and Sunil Narine.

Outside the duo, the bowling returns of individuals, outside Tim Southee, have been hideous. 

KKR’s pacers going for plenty is not too surprising, but what’s hurt Shreyas Iyer is just how expensive Varun Chakravarthy has been. Chakravarthy, in each of his last two matches, was taken apart (0/45 off 3 and 1/44 off 4) and he’s uncharacteristically blown hot and cold this season. The tight spells he bowled in tandem with Narine helped KKR choke batting line-ups last season, but the Knight Riders simply haven’t been able to do that this time around due to the Tamil Nadu man being expensive. 

The Southee-Pat Cummins swap has also impacted KKR negatively on the bowling front. In the two games he played, Southee was outstanding, picking 5 wickets at an ER of 7.00. Cummins has already won a game for KKR with the bat, but his bowling returns have been unremarkable: he’s taken just 3 wickets while going at 11.83 runs per over.

KKR can solve this by drafting in Southee for Cummins directly, but that would weaken their batting to an extent. So perhaps, they could instead look at opening with an Indian player alongside Iyer — maybe try Jackson or bring someone in from the reserves — and play both Southee and Cummins together. 

Probable XIs

KKR: Aaron Finch, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Aman Hakim Khan, Varun Chakaravarthy

RR: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Kuldeep Sen, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal