IPL 2018: Shining Shields and Chinks in the Armour- 4 talking points from KKR's performance
As a new look unit of Kolkata Knight Riders took the lightning quick outfield at the uproarious Eden Gardens, there was an air of nervousness, concern and uncertainty. The air was ripe with questions:- How will the team fare without an established leader? What if there are more cases of misfortune like Mitchell Starc, with the squad already having major players coming back after injuries or being injury prone? Who will carry the middle order in the absence of a regular international batsman in the middle?
Credit must go to Dinesh Karthik for taking the first right step in filling the big boots of Gautam Gambhir and giving the magnificent crowd at the Eden a start to cherish. While the introduction of a certain Nitish Rana, the David who vanquished cricket's 2 biggest Goliaths on consecutive deliveries, was more of a hopeful try than a cricketing masterstroke, Karthik showed a tendency to think on his feet throughout the first innings and backed it up with the composure to finish the chase in what was a responsible skipper's knock. Although the Knights showed the mettle of their shining shields, the performance was at times edgy and gave a good insight into what might be their key enablers as well as some chinks in the armour as they advance ahead in the tournament.
Here are some talking points from the game as we dissect the Knights' performance:
#1 The Necessity of a Blitzkrieg beginning
The middle order for KKR isn't exactly the one which will have opponents trembling on the field. While Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik, the backbone of the middle order are able batsmen, supported well by Nitish Rana, KKR will miss the pacing which either Gautam Gambhir or Manish Pandey were able to provide to their innings in the previous seasons. Uthappa is swashbuckling on his best days, but has an equal number of outings where he falls prey to his own frequently misjudged shots. The drop in tempo was evident today after the fall of Narine till the time Karthik took on Chahal in the 14th over.
Given this, it will be essential for either one of Lynn or Narine to go all guns blazing and fire a 40 plus score to set the base for the middle order, something which Narine delivered to perfection today. Both batsmen play a similar brand where they can take away the game from the opposition. KKR will need either one of them to grab the game by the scruff of the neck right from ball 1. Else the middle order will have a daunting task to follow.