Match 41 was a bizarre match that saw two flawed teams trying to beat each other. Eventually, DC emerged victorious to hand KKR their fifth consecutive loss of this year’s IPL. Let’s look at some key talking points from this game.
KKR’s unstable XI
With three changes in the XI from their last game, and two players making their debut, KKR have now played 19 players in eight games. KKR have lost their last five games, and they have had the same set of openers in only two of these games. They have tried five different openers in these games, and it shows the lack of faith in them from the team management.
Irrespective of the format, cricket is a game of confidence, and it is not only a result of good performances but also a sense of security. An opening pair plays a huge role in a team either setting a target or chasing it. An unsettled unit affects the entire squad’s morale, not just the playing XI’s.
This constant chop and change of personnel shows that KKR are yet to discover their ideal or first-choice playing XI. In the remaining games, KKR need to back their players and give them the freedom to express themselves without them worrying about facing the axe.
Pant’s baffling captaincy
This was a game where both teams tried very hard to lose, but eventually, one team emerged victorious.
KKR were reeling at 101/6 after the end of 16 overs. Kuldeep Yadav had an over remaining after picking up four wickets in three overs. With Nitish Rana at the crease, Rishabh Pant opted to bowl Lalit Yadav for the 17th over. Yadav conceded 17 runs off that over.
This wasn’t a decision that looks bad in hindsight. It was a case of lack of awareness from the DC captain. Before this game, despite being a left-handed batter, Rana’s strike rate against right-arm off-spin was 161.9, averaging 34. Bowling Lalit Yadav against him wasn’t a favourable match-up, especially when Kuldeep Yadav ended up not bowling his full quota of overs. Even Chetan Sakariya, who was outstanding in his three overs, ended up not bowling his fourth over.
Iyer reciprocating Pant
Pant was reciprocated nicely by Shreyas Iyer for the captaincy gifts showered on KKR. After failing to identify the right entry points for KKR batters, mainly Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, where they were sent to face Kuldeep Yadav despite having better players of spin, Iyer was also uninspiring in his bowling changes.
His first major blunder was bowling Nitish Rana against a set David Warner, who pounced on the freebies and smashed 14 runs off the off-spinner’s over. Then, when the game was in a bit of balance, with DC needing 30 runs off 24 balls with just four wickets in hand, Venkatesh Iyer was introduced into the bowling attack. Before this game, he had bowled just two overs in this year’s IPL. That over went for 14 runs and put DC ahead of the game.
If that wasn’t enough, Shreyas Iyer brought himself into the attack to bowl the penultimate over of the chase. The match was truly bizarre, and despite a close contest on paper, the game lacked quality from both sides. KKR are in a downward spiral and need to find a way out of it soon. DC, on the other hand, have managed to stay afloat this season with this win.