IPL 2021: 3 KKR players who flopped in the final
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were on the brink of scripting history when they faced off against CSK in their 3rd IPL final on Friday. However, the Eoin Morgan-led team's worst concerns came back to bite them on the day it mattered most.
After being put in to bat, CSK put up a formidable 192 on the scoreboard courtesy of a fantastic 86-run knock by Faf du Plessis. While the pitch looked good to bat on, it was always going to be a mountainous task for the Knights to chase down the total under the pressure of a final.
Although openers Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill continued to show their class in the middle, the other batsmen couldn't sustain for long once the openers departed.
The CSK players put up some brilliant performances with both bat and ball in order to rightfully claim the IPL 2021 title. The KKR players, on the other hand, were sloppy on the field - missing run-out chances and dropping catches.
With KKR completely being outdone by CSK in all three departments during the IPL final, we look at three KKR players who had a forgettable day in the middle in the final.
#1 Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik seems to have lost the magic touch he once used to have with both bat and wicketkeeping gloves. The KKR vice-captain had a bad day out in the middle. He missed out on a few catching opportunities behind the stumps, and also failed to contribute with the bat.
Notably, Karthik missed a chance to dismiss Faf du Plessis cheaply in the innings. Shakib Al Hasan bowled a superb arm-delivery that beat Faf du Plessis, who played his shot a bit too early. The Indian keeper had the perfect opportunity to stump the CSK opener, but he was a tad bit late to react.
Karthik's mistake cost KKR heavily as Faf du Plessis then went on to pile on the runs and eventually scored a match-winning 86 for the Super Kings.
#2 Lockie Ferguson
KKR's strike bowler, Lockie Ferguson, had an off-day on one of the most important days for the Men in Purple. While he managed to pick at least one wicket in each game of the UAE leg, Ferguson not only went wicketless but also leaked runs in the final.
The Kiwi pacer went at 14 runs an over in the final, conceding a total of 56 runs in his quota of 4 overs. Despite him bowling with terrorizing pace, the CSK batsmen seemingly found it easy to pick the Ferguson, who turned out to be the most expensive bowler for KKR by far.
#3 Nitish Rana
Nitish Rana has often been KKR's go-to person to bail the team out of difficult situations. However, the top-order batsman couldn't make it count in the final against CSK on Friday.
His performance hurt KKR more since in-form batsman Rahul Tripathi was down with a hamstring injury and the Knights were looking to Rana to keep the runs flowing.
The southpaw, however, got out for a golden duck. Facing Shardul Thakur, Rana was deceived by the line and length of the delivery and hit the ball straight to Faf du Plessis.