Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders struggle to find rhythm

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I doubt that anyone considered Punjab Kings or Kolkata Knight Riders to be struggling in the IPL 2021, before the start of the season.


Both teams have had their problems and that’s pushed them down to 1 win (KKR) and 2 wins (PBKS) from 5 games each. Definitely, this is not a start that either expected, but the tournament is still far from over for both.


This is the IPL and everything is possible. Eight wins are expected to be a qualification point and that mark surely looks quite far fetched as of now, especially considering the form of both the teams.


What’s going wrong with KKR?


KKR is a powerhouse of world-class attacking batsman and mystery spinners. A combination, which is the demand to all the franchises around the world. They have a settled young Indian batting line-up and that adds on with a quality young Indian pace attack. Then why are they even struggling?


KKR has had a major issue with their core not doing well. Slow and spinning Chennai wickets created so much doubt in the minds of the free-flowing KKR batsman, that they would hesitate in attacking on the Mumbai wickets as well.


KKR started the campaign with a win against SRH, where Nitish Rana and Tripathi lead from the front to get to 187, which was always going to be too good for SRH. But since then, it’s gone all downhill for them.


Gill, Narine, Morgan and to a certain extent even Shakib has disappointed with the bat. Either the intent is missing and they spend time on the crease; or if the intent is there, then it’s not long enough to make an impact. Karthik, Dre Russ and Cummins have only been doing the cleaning up work and they have barely had sufficient time to do so. It’s gone to a point, where gill looked desperate to contribute in any possible way in the last game.


What’s the ideal team and strategy?


Jackson, Rana, Tripathi, Dre Russ, morgan (c), Karthik (WK), Cummins, Cutting, Mavi, Pasidh, Varun.


Jackson is a positive player and being a keeper, he would have good hand-eye coordination. A good positive start from Jackson, followed by some positive cricket from Tripathi, will allow Rana to play through. And then the power hitters can make a considerable impact.


KKR needs to make sure that the mighty striker Dre Russ has to have at least 10 overs to play with, so that he can make a big difference. And then you can use DK as a finisher instead of him.


What’s wrong with PBKS?


Just like KKR, Punjab also started their campaign with a win against RR in a very high scoring encounter. But that followed with 3 consecutive losses. Although, a massive win against the IPL giants MI, would be a big morale booster for PBKS.


Not a lot is wrong for Punjab and I doubt that are still worried, despite being in a difficult situation. Rather, they would be more than happy to get out from the slow wickets of Mumbai and Chennai.


PBKS has built their team on the mindset of the all or nothing mindset, an attitude that has been followed by the English team and it has got a lot of success in the T20 format especially.


On their day, Punjab has the capability of scoring 250 plus as well, but they don’t have that kind of experienced quality in their bowling. None the less, the bowling has fought well and hard so far and batting has disappointed.


Gayle is one of the top-rated players in T20 cricket because of his striking capabilities. But he takes 10-12 balls to get in, which could be easily 3 or 4 overs of a match.


If after taking that time, he doesn’t fire, then there is a lot of pressure on the people coming after him. Pooran has failed to score a total of 10 runs in 4 games where he has batted.


What’s the ideal team and strategy?


Mayank, KL Rahul, Gayle, Pooran, Hooda, Moises, Sharukh, Riley/Jhye, Shami, Bishnoi, Arshdeep.


When the ball comes on to the bat, that’s when it’s a batting paradise for through the line players. A majority of the hungry to perform Punjab players will take a big liking to this surface.


KL has shown great maturity this season. He has kept his confidence and stuck with pooran, despite his poor run. Not to forget, that the world number 1 T20 batsman (Dawid Malan) is sitting out, waiting for an opportunity.


There would be no harm in bringing down Mayank to number 4 and playing Malan instead of Pooran as an opener. Definitely, he will add a lot of value.


Sharukh has shown great promise and Hooda is a tested finisher, with the addition of Moises to this combo, it adds a great value. All they need is a good base for them to unleash.


Definitely, Punjab will want to chase on this beautiful new ground, where dew is likely to play a big part in the chase.


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