"Whole team is gonna get belt treatment from Gambhir during innings break" - Fans react to KKR's abysmal fielding display against RCB in IPL 2024
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) put in a decent shift with the ball against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), but their fielding could not back up those efforts. The Shreyas Iyer-led side were well below par on the field, dropping some crucial catches at critical junctures of the innings. The 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash is being held at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, March 29.
KKR opted to bowl first after winning the toss, and it was Glenn Maxwell who reaped the benefit of the poor fielding out in the middle. The explosive Australian batter was dropped twice over the course of his innings, firstly by Ramandeep Singh and then by Sunil Narine when he was batting on 11 and 21, respectively.
What makes matters worse is the fact that both opportunities were regulation chances, and happened off consecutive overs. Maxwell was able to score five more runs before he was eventually dismissed after being caught by Rinku Singh.
However, KKR's misfortune in the field did not end with Maxwell's departure. Right after Rinku Singh took his second catch to seal Rajat Patidar's departure, Varun Chakravarthy dropped Anuj Rawat in the same over. The spinner was then subbed off, bowling just a couple of overs and conceding 20 runs without claiming a wicket.
KKR fielding coach Ryan ten Doeschate has the work cut out for him, considering the team's performance on the field in the season opener as well. Although Suyash Sharma had taken a brilliant catch to dismiss Heinrich Klaasen, there were a handful of dropped opportunities by Phil Salt and Varun Chakravarthy.
Although KKR's dropped chances against RCB did not result in as much damage as it could have, the fans were still fuming over the fielding display on offer by the players. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:
"Pretty happy with it" - Cameron Green optimistic about target against KKR
Courtesy of Virat Kohli's unbeaten knock, RCB were able to post 182-6, on what has not been a traditional Chinnaswamy wicket. Andre Russell and Harshit Rana were able to have a major say with their off-pace deliveries.
Cameron Green, who scored a vital camo in RCB's innings, stated that the team are satisfied with the total.
"Pretty happy with it (total), we saw how the pitch was playing, the off-cutters obviously working, hopefully it stays the same in the second innings," Green said. "We have to wait and see. (Batting at three) I love playing there. You've got a bit more freedom in the last couple of overs in the powerplay. It's always nice to bat with Virat, he looked beautiful again today."
"There's certain bowlers in their team that I have never faced before. Obviously he has faced some 10 or 20 times, the experience is always amazing. They had a pretty good blueprint, cutters into the wicket - holding and not bouncing even, we have to wait and see if the dew comes in," he added.
KKR's Sunil Narine and Phil Salt have walked out for the run chase, while RCB have made their impact sub. Dinesh Karthik has been benched for pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak.