IPL 2021, KKR vs SRH: Kolkata Knight Riders look to stay in contention as they face Sunrisers Hyderabad | Cricket News – Times of India
Entering the last lap of the IPL race, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ team management will have to keep an eye both on and off the field. On the field, the least they have to do is to win their remaining two matches. Off it, they have to keep track of how some other teams are faring.
Their loss against Punjab Kings on Friday has thrown open the race for playoffs with a lot of mathematical permutations coming into play. However, KKR still have two factors in their favour. Firstly, they have a healthy net run rate (+0.302) which is better than all other playoff contenders and secondly they will be playing two lower rung teams in the coming days.
KKR will definitely start as favourites against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Sunday. But they have to be cautious about avoiding the proverbial banana skin as a team with nothing to play for often ends up pulling off a surprise. The Kane Williamson-led side has fared below-par in all departments of the game. Their top-order has failed to provide fluent starts, their middle-order has looked brittle and their bowlers have been inconsistent.
However, the Eoin Morgan’s boys need to pull up their socks after failing to seal a close contest against Punjab. The absence of Andre Russell has no doubt affected the team’s balance. On Friday, they missed the big West Indian on two fronts: As a designated fifth bowler and a batter who could have got them an extra 15-20 runs towards the end of the innings. Morgan used Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana to fill the fifth bowler slot, but the duo went for 37 runs in 3.3 overs. While batting first, in spite of looking good enough to get something like 180 runs, the Knights managed just 45 runs in the last 5.2 overs after the departure of Iyer.
“Dre Russ leaves a huge gap in the allrounder position,” Morgan confessed after the loss on Friday.
“In terms of the balance, when you take out a world class allrounder like Russell, it’s always difficult to balance your side,” head coach Brendon McCullum also admitted. “You’re always going to get the delicate balance of going either bowling strong or batting strong,” he added.
With Tim Seifert failing on Friday, KKR might opt for allrounders Ben Cutting or Shakib Al Hasan now.
McCullum backed Shakib for the remaining ties. “Shakib’s always in the mix because of his skillset, the ability to bowl left-arm orthodox and also his batting,” he stated in a post-match press conference. However, with the Dubai track assisting little spin, Cutting also remains as an option.
Their loss against Punjab Kings on Friday has thrown open the race for playoffs with a lot of mathematical permutations coming into play. However, KKR still have two factors in their favour. Firstly, they have a healthy net run rate (+0.302) which is better than all other playoff contenders and secondly they will be playing two lower rung teams in the coming days.
KKR will definitely start as favourites against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Sunday. But they have to be cautious about avoiding the proverbial banana skin as a team with nothing to play for often ends up pulling off a surprise. The Kane Williamson-led side has fared below-par in all departments of the game. Their top-order has failed to provide fluent starts, their middle-order has looked brittle and their bowlers have been inconsistent.
However, the Eoin Morgan’s boys need to pull up their socks after failing to seal a close contest against Punjab. The absence of Andre Russell has no doubt affected the team’s balance. On Friday, they missed the big West Indian on two fronts: As a designated fifth bowler and a batter who could have got them an extra 15-20 runs towards the end of the innings. Morgan used Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana to fill the fifth bowler slot, but the duo went for 37 runs in 3.3 overs. While batting first, in spite of looking good enough to get something like 180 runs, the Knights managed just 45 runs in the last 5.2 overs after the departure of Iyer.
“Dre Russ leaves a huge gap in the allrounder position,” Morgan confessed after the loss on Friday.
“In terms of the balance, when you take out a world class allrounder like Russell, it’s always difficult to balance your side,” head coach Brendon McCullum also admitted. “You’re always going to get the delicate balance of going either bowling strong or batting strong,” he added.
With Tim Seifert failing on Friday, KKR might opt for allrounders Ben Cutting or Shakib Al Hasan now.
McCullum backed Shakib for the remaining ties. “Shakib’s always in the mix because of his skillset, the ability to bowl left-arm orthodox and also his batting,” he stated in a post-match press conference. However, with the Dubai track assisting little spin, Cutting also remains as an option.
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