IPL 2017: KKR vs GL, 5 things that went wrong for Kolkata Knight Riders
Gujarat Lions won a crucial match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens and moved up from their last position in the points table. For KKR, it was a largely forgetful day, especially for their bowlers. Having won the toss, Gujarat Lions chose to field in line with the current trend of teams chasing down targets.
Extra Cover: IPL 2017: KKR vs GL, SK Play of the Day, Suresh Raina takes Nathan Coulter-Nile to the cleaners
Here, we look at five things that went wrong for KKR which cost them this game:
#5 KKR’s sluggish finish in the first innings
At the end of 10 overs, KKR looked like they were set for a huge target well above 200, buoyed by a quick-fire innings from Sunil Narine and a steady partnership between Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa. But things slowed down dramatically after Gambhir was caught at mid-wicket to Faulkner in the 12th over.
While Uthappa continued with his fluent innings, runs stopped flowing freely at the other end. Manish Pandey, coming into the game after a match-winning inning against Delhi Daredevils, had a difficult time at the crease against GL’s bowlers, who came back strongly after an ordinary start. In spite of having wickets in hand, Pandey’s slow innings – 24 runs off 21 balls – at a crucial juncture ensured that KKR ended up with a score of 187 only.
Since Gambhir’s wicket, they have added just 73 runs in the last 51 balls. With GL’s best bowler of the season Andrew Tye warming the bench, KKR should have really capitalised on the opportunity. On a good wicket and with a batting line-up consisting of Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina, their score of 187 was not very competitive.