What a turnaround has Kolkata produced in this IPL! A team that was truly struggling in the first half even to give a good competition to other teams has entered the tournament’s final and that too in a very splendid manner. Let’s have a look at how Knight Riders have emerged as the Darkhorse of this year’s IPL.
Poor show in the first half
The tournament for the men in purple started with a win. However, the enigma behind Eoin Morgan as the captain persisted, and it further increased after the team began struggling as the tournament moved ahead. The early promise shown from the top batting order slowly diminished as the first half came to an untimely end. The team looked lost for most of the first half, and no one had answers for that.
Bossing the UAE leg: What turned the wheels for the team?
The second half of KKR started in the absence of their ace bowler Pat Cummins, and it was looking as if KKR’s season was already over. But with the new addition of Venkatesh Iyer as the opener, it was as if there was a completely new franchise playing the game. The team, which averaged a batting powerplay of 24.83 runs in the first half, produced the best numbers on the slower pitches of UAE (51.62). The credit for this can be given to the uncapped player mentioned earlier (Iyer), whose performances have fetched the team’s clinical wins.
The team also didn’t fail to make us forget the absence of Pat by giving out the best economy numbers of the tournament. A brilliant 7.59 runs per over was maintained this season by the KKR bowlers, proving that this turnaround was a complete team effort. The addition of Lockie Ferguson in the second half has checked off the near-perfect KKR bowling squad in every aspect.
Not the first time KKR have turned their fortunes…
For anyone with some cricketing knowledge, the manner in which KKR has made a comeback might come out as a shock. But is this the first occurrence of such an event? The answer is a no, and that too from KKR again. The team in the 2014 season, too, had lost five of their first seven matches and not only won every match from there on, but they also went on to lift that year’s IPL cup as well.
And if they can repeat the result of the 2014 finals, oh god, then speak about the mother of coincidences!