IPL 2018: SRH favourites but we have home support, says Heath Streak
Contrasts do not come any sharper. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were on the verge of immortalized glory after nine wins in eleven games have somehow lost their last four matches. Kolkata Knight Riders who were fluctuating in operation, overly dependent on overseas recruits, needing flawless execution in the dying stages of the tournament, turned things around by winning the last four of their matches.
Amidst the dizzying surge, Heath Streak maintains a calm head. He has seen the ends of the spectrum way too often, most recently in Zimbabwe's topsy-turvy campaign as head coach, to be unfazed by obvious difference in the momentums of the two sides going into the all-important Qualifier 2. Rather, he plays down the 'favourites' tag and takes the safer route of the underdog proclamation.
On Thursday, Streak was quoted saying, "You don’t play cricket on paper. They are a very strong side with good players – they wouldn’t have finished at the top of the table if they weren’t. But we’re coming good at the right time. The balance, form — those are all important factors in cricket. We know they’re a good side and we know they’re probably favourites – but we’ve also got the home advantage and home support, which has been unbelievable.”
With the likes of left-arm quick ace duo of Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson in their initial roster, T20 specialist Jacob Searles and later Tom Curran as the replacement, not a lot of people would have fathomed a pick out of the wilderness in form of Prasidh Krishna to play a defining role in the crucial stages of the tournament. Brought in as the injury replacement for U-19 sensation Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh has found a groove of his own bowling with the new ball as well as arresting batting momentum towards the end of the innings.
Streak was all praise for the lanky speedster as he said, "Prasidh has been outstanding. He’s brought in a new dimension, not just with his pace but his height. For me, the most pleasing thing to see is how much of a thinking cricketer he is. He’s really been smart, he’s using his options and variations well, he’s using the double-bluffs and not allowing the batsman to look at the field and know what ball’s coming next."
A facet KKR have dominated this season has been batting in the middle overs. In the template built by Gautam Gambhir over the last seven years, they played a conservative brand of cricket in the middle overs. However, things changed this year. Taking a leaf out of KXIP's dominant campaign of 2014, they slotted in attacking players in the middle overs, with the skipper Dinesh Karthik himself at the helm of the resurgence and the prodigious Shubman Gill and Andre Russell floating around him.
Coach Streak was keen on this particular aspect of KKR's performances this season. "We have been consistent throughout the innings. We don’t taper off so much from overs seven to fourteen. We continue to score at a consistent scoring rate," Streak said as he talked about the much-coveted team balance.
"That makes a difference and luckily we have got a good balance of power hitters. The likes of Lynns, Uthappas and Russells and also your more conventional players like Rana, DK Shubman Gill and obviously of late we have brought in Javon Searles."
Even with a rolling juggernaut, it will not be easy for Streak's side to overcome the all-conquering SRH who will be hurting and raring to get out of the rut they have gotten themselves in.