3 reasons why KKR can make Eden Gardens a fortress in IPL 2024
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) continued their red-hot start to the IPL 2024 campaign with a thumping eight-wicket win over the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Eden Gardens on April 14.
It was their fourth win in five outings and a second on the trot at home in as many games, which propelled them to second on the points table. Home court advantage is often an underrated aspect in the IPL, yet they go hand-in-hand with a team's overall performance in the tournament.
The most successful teams like CSK, MI, and KKR themselves have enjoyed home-cooking in their best seasons over the years. Even in the ongoing IPL 2024, the top three teams, RR, KKR, and CSK, have combined to lose only the lone home game, while the bottom-placed RCB have suffered defeats in two of their three matches at home.
Coming to KKR, their home wins against SRH and LSG are already a striking difference from their dismal showing at Eden Gardens last year. The side won two of their seven home matches in 2023, a key factor behind their finishing seventh on the final points table.
On that note, let us look at three reasons why KKR can make Eden Gardens a fortress in the ongoing season.
#1 Tremendous variety in the bowling department to overcome the Eden conditions
One of the best things that happened for KKR despite their sub-par IPL 2023 season was the horrific bowling of their frontline pacers - Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, and Umesh Yadav.
It led to the side playing youngsters, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana, leading to them gaining valuable experience and showcasing their excellent skills at the start and end of the innings. What was also revealing last season was KKR's woeful death-bowling and the franchise tried to correct that by adding veteran Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc as the most expensive buy in IPL history at the auction.
All of this means KKR now boasts a well-rounded pace attack, something that was missing last season, to their exceptional spin-bowling arsenal with Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and Suyash Sharma. The cherry on top of the cake is a rejuvenated Andre Russell, who has already bowled close to 10 overs and picked up six wickets in five games.
With Eden Gardens predominantly turning into a batting paradise this season, having a solid pace and spin attack with incredible variety should hold KKR in great stead as they look to continue their home domination.
#2 Batting - Impeccable mix of depth, firepower, and versatility
Though predominantly a batting-friendly track this season, Eden Gardens has occasionally tended to assist the bowlers. This has enhanced the importance of possessing batters with multiple gears and depth in the batting lineup and KKR is arguably the best in having both bases covered.
The fact that their best batter from last season and the most in-form T20 batter over the past few months, Rinku Singh has averaged facing only 8.4 balls per game is a testimony to KKR's batting firepower.
With Sunil Narine and Phil Salt opening the batting, the side boasts the most destructive opening pair in the competition on their day. The new-found gem in Angkrish Raghuvanshi at No.3 followed by skipper Shreyas Iyer at 4 and Venkatesh Iyer at 5 makes KKR's middle-order solid yet versatile.
With power-hitters Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, and Andre Russell at Nos. 6 to 8, a devastating finish is almost a certainty for opposition sides. The two home matches thus far have been an exhibition of all these weapons.
In the home opener, KKR were reduced 51/4 in the eighth over and still finished with a mammoth 208 in 20 overs, thanks to fearsome knocks by Ramandeep, Rinku, and Russell.
And the latest encounter against LSG revealed their other side with Phil Salt blasting a 47-ball 89 to make a mockery of a 162-run target against a side that made a habit of successfully defending such totals.
Such variety, firepower, and batting depth are rarely seen in a T20 side but KKR has all of them packaged into one, making them almost impossible to dethrone at Eden Gardens.
#3 Intangibles - Early Momentum, Crowd factor & Team balance
Never underestimate the role of winning momentum at home at the start of an IPL season. In 2023, KKR lost four of their first five games at Eden Gardens, resulting in the side being consistently on the outside of the top four.
With a dominant 2-0 start at home this year, expect the vociferous crowd of the second-largest stadium in India to only increase the decibel levels in the upcoming games. The detonation should have a positive impact on the KKR players even during trying situations while leaving the opposition in fear of a potentially invincible aura.
Added to all of this is KKR's inimitable balance of boasting a wicket-keeper (Phil Salt) and two proper all-rounders (Sunil Narine and Andre Russell) in their top seven and it is no surprise that they go into most games like a 14-player team instead of 11.
These intangibles should make KKR build on their excellent start at home and use the Eden Gardens to their advantage for a top-four or even a top-two finish.