A defeat against Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday brought down the curtain on Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL campaign this year. From a hopeless position, KKR rallied to give themselves a slim playoff chance, but a five-game losing streak mid-season proved to be their bugbear. From constant chopping and changing to over-reliance on individuals, poor form of a few key players and a lack of on-field leadership – a lot of things contributed to KKR’s failure. After the win against Mumbai Indians in their second-leg fixture, KKR captain Shreyas Iyer was asked about the constant chopping and changing in the playing eleven. Shreyas’ comment about the CEO’s involvement in team selection was enough to raise many an eyebrow. Later, the skipper tried damage control.
Five different opening combinations in the first 11 matches attested uncertainty. Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Sunil Narine and Sam Billings – all opened for KKR, at the expense of stability. “The chopping and changing nature isn’t ideal, but that happens when you aren’t winning a lot of games,” KKR fast bowler Tim Southee had said at a post-match press conference. This seriously affected their Powerplay batting – their run-rate of 6.53 after 11 games was the lowest among all teams in the first six overs. “… the Powerplay, we have been a little stuck,” KKR head coach Brendon McCullum admitted. Also, it took his side 12 games to stitch their first 50-plus opening stand. Successful teams revel in continuity, but KKR kept it at arm’s length and paid the price. KKR broke the bank for Shreyas Iyer (Rs 12.25 crore) at the auction to add stardust and a proven performer in their top order. He was instantly made the captain, but as it turned out, Shreyas failed to provide the required impact. He finished as the team’s top scorer with 401 runs from 14 games, but Shreyas was expected to do what Jos Buttler and KL Rahul did for Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants respectively. Bereft of a top-order x-factor, KKR batting became over-reliant on Andre Russell’s power-hitting – Nitish Rana with 361 runs deserves an honourable mention. The Jamaican scored 335 runs at a strike rate of 174.47, but on several occasions he played lone rangers. KKR’s first-leg match against Super Giants was a case in point, with Russell scoring 45 off 19 balls and his team folding up for 101. Even in bowling, there was an over-dependence on Narine despite Umesh Yadav, Southee and Russell contributing well. Batting or bowling, KKR failed to perform as a team. Venkatesh was at the forefront of KKR’s resurrection last year during the second phase of the tournament. His exploits as a KKR opener took him to the Indian white-ball team. The southpaw is seemingly affected by the second season blues, with just 132 runs from nine matches before he was dropped. He came back to score 43 off 24 balls against MI, but it was too late. Venkatesh couldn’t get going as an opener. The team management tried him in the middle-order also – it wasn’t a case of acting in haste. Unlike last year, Venkatesh didn’t play fearless cricket.
Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, too, was one of KKR’s retainees ahead of the season. Bowling on tacky and sluggish UAE pitches, Varun had spun a web around the opposition batsmen in the last year’s IPL. Bowling in tandem with Narine, he offered the spin-choke in the middle-overs, which wooed the national selectors enough to pick him for the T20 World Cup.
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