Kolkata Knight Riders’ Shreyas Iyer celebrates after winning the Indian Premier League 2024 final match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on May 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

When Shreyas Iyer recreated Lionel Messi’s famous World Cup celebration after lifting the IPL Trophy as Kolkata Knight Riders captain in Chennai, it was nothing short of an Argentina moment for the embattled Indian cricketer at an individual level.

His central contract torn up a few weeks before the IPL besides a recurring back injury threatening to derail him, Iyer faced numerous challenges at the start of the year.

He finally found a deep sense of triumph and vindication in this victory, much like Messi did after exorcising the ghosts of losing the 2014 final and winning the trophy for his country after a 36-year-wait.

For the two-time IPL champions, the wait lasted 10 years as Iyer sang a redemption song following a topsy-turvy start to the year. Little wonder then that he chose to imitate the man who knows all about rising from setbacks.

So, Iyer, with the trophy in his hands, took a playful walk towards his teammates, quite similar to what Messi did after the final against France in Doha, and handed the big prize to them.

“I am hearing a lot about Gautam Gambhir, who has created a magnificent culture in the KKR team. But this guy (Iyer), I don’t think he is getting enough credit. Shreyas Iyer needs some credit,” said the legendary Ian Bishop on Sunday as KKR defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in a completely one-sided final to win their third IPL title.

KKR may have got most of their runs from openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt, but they played as a team and managed to come out winners in a dominant season, topping the table with two rounds to spare, and enduring just three losses in between.

“It is hard to express how we are feeling right now. The wait was so long. We played like invincibles throughout the season. There is so much to cherish right now,” said Iyer.

It was a special feeling for his childhood and Mumbai coach Pravin Amre, who first tested his character by promoting Iyer to No.3 from No.7 in his maiden Ranji season in 2014-15.

Iyer returned with 153, his maiden first-class hundred in their match against Bengal at Eden Gardens in December 2014.

“I challenged him in his entire career (in Mumbai)…I knew how strong-willed he’s and it was my job as a coach to challenge him. He always liked to take the challenge in a good stride. he is a good team man. In the last world cup, he scored 530 runs,” Amre said.

“I always told him you just do whatever is in your hands, let the other people do their job, you just remain focus on what’s in your hands,” added Amre who first took him under his wings at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana.

By leading KKR into final, Iyer achieved the rare of feat of playing the summit clash as captain of two different franchises in the IPL. The KKR skipper missed the last season because of a back injury that required a surgery in London last year.

He made a comeback in the Asia Cup and went on to become India’s third leading run-getter after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the last year’s ODI World Cup.

The year didn’t start well for him though as he had a difficult outing in the home Test series against England and looked patchy scoring 140 runs in the first two matches before being left out for the final three Tests.

It was learnt that he developed the recurring back problem, even though he was cleared by the Board medical staff. Iyer then became the centre of a controversy when he missed the Ranji Trophy for his home state Mumbai and went on to attend KKR’s pre-season camp.

Iyer, however, returned to play for Mumbai in the semifinal and final against Vidarbha where he scored a resolute 95 in the second innings of their 42nd Ranji triumph.

The Board omitted him from the Grade B contract and BCCI secretary Jay Shah issued a stern warning asking players not to prioritise IPL over domestic cricket.

Under intense scrutiny, Iyer looked rusty at the start of the IPL and got out for a two-ball duck in their opener against SRH.

He had some significant contributions later on but his efforts were all overshadowed by Narine and Salt’s explosive batting.

Captain cool

However, Iyer personified “Captain Cool” and held the team’s cause ahead of his individual milestones. He went on to become the fourth leading run-getter for KKR this season with 351 runs and two fifties.

His best came against the crucial first qualifier against SRH when he anchored their tricky chase of 160 with an unbeaten 58.

“The way he handled the team as a player is commendable. More than that, he is improving as a leader and the experts in the game are also appreciating his leadership qualities,” Amre said.

“I personally believe success is not an accident he has worked hard for this, handling the team. Yes, he had a good team under him but bringing the best out of everyone is important,” he added.

Last December, when Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins went for over ₹45 crore collectively at the auction, it looked like the Indian Premier League market had gone berserk.

Recency bias was the oft-cited explanation, for the two speedsters had played an instrumental role in Australia’s 50-over World Cup win just a month earlier. It didn’t matter that Starc had last played in the IPL in 2015 and Cummins a grand total of 12 IPL matches since 2020.

Kolkata Knight Riders paid a whopping ₹24.75 crores for Starc and Sunrisers Hyderabad splurged ₹20.50 crores on Cummins. Two bonafide Test greats, with enviable ODI records, had laughed their way to the bank in the bespoke world of T20 cricket.

More than five months after that frenzied afternoon in Dubai, Starc and Cummins will line up for the IPL final at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on May 26, having proved their penny’s worth and every critic wrong. Starc has scalped 15 wickets in KKR’s commanding run to the summit clash while Cummins, with his midas captaincy touch, has had his best-ever IPL with 17 wickets.

It helps that both are part of robust T20 outfits. KKR, astutely led by Shreyas Iyer, last lost a match exactly a month ago and reserved its best for Qualifier 1 where it walloped SRH by eight wickets. Sunrisers, despite being not so clinical, has redefined T20 batting this season, with Travis Head — another World Cup winner from Australia — and Abhishek Sharma pummelling many attacks into submission.

So wholesome an outfit has KKR been that even the loss of the in-form opener Phil Salt hasn’t seemingly affected the balance as Afghan Rahmanullah Gurbaz shone in Qualifier 1 in his first visit to the crease. Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell have come to the party when required; only Rinku Singh has remained largely subdued.

For SRH, Rahul Tripathi has thrived in three straight games and, along with Heinrich Klaasen, has bolstered the middle-order. Particularly impressive was the way R. Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal were handled in Qualifier 2. This should bode well for the team ahead of another spin test against Varun Chakravarthy and Narine.

New heroes

The biggest gain for SRH from Friday’s shootout was the unearthing of new heroes, with the unheralded spin bowlers in Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek coming up with match-winning performances on a dry, deteriorating pitch. Will lightning strike twice at Chepauk?

Heavens did open on match-eve, forcing KKR to call off its practice session after a few minutes. Sun didn’t beat down on Saturday as it usually does in May in these parts, but the weather remained warm and humid. As to what effect this has on the late-evening dew on matchday remains to be seen, for the absence of it in Qualifier 2 perplexed many.

However, amidst this mystery, what is certain is the fact that one of Starc and Cummins will leave the Indian shores with another colourful feather in an already ornate cap. A World Test champion, an ODI World Cup winner, a T20 World titlist will also be an IPL top dog.

Teams

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, Anmolpreet Singh, Glenn Phillips (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Upendra Yadav (wk), Jhathavedh Subramanyan, Sanvir Singh, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Marco Jansen, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mayank Agarwal.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Match starts at 7.30 PM.

Rajasthan Royals will be desperate to snap their four-match losing streak and finish in the top two when they meet table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in an important IPL game in Guwahati on May 19.   
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

An alert from the National Disaster Management Authority bears grim prognoses about impending thunderstorms, rain and gusty wind for the residents here ahead of Rajasthan Royals versus Kolkata Knight Riders, Indian Premier League’s last group-stage fixture.

That the match at Barsapara Stadium may end up deciding whether Sanju Samson’s men finish in the top two, may have the dugout addressing a prayer or two to the weather gods.

How things are

The mathematics is quite simple now. If RR wins against KKR on Sunday, it enters Qualifier 1. However, a Chennai Super Kings loss on Saturday and a Punjab Kings win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the day game on Sunday can also ensure a second-place finish for the RR without it having to take the field.

If Sunday’s contest does get underway, death overs are where Samson’s team needs to metamorphose into its full glory. RR has not only scored 71 runs more than KKR between the 16th and 20th over, but it has also picked 24 wickets, a touch better than KKR’s 21. RR will also carry a psychological advantage for it pulled off a record chase to prevail the last time these two sides met.

An interesting duel to look forward to will be the one between spinners Varun Chakaravarthy and Yuzvendra Chahal in the middle overs. While Varun has picked 16 wickets, the most by any bowler in 2024 between overs 7 and 16, Chahal has accounted for 15.

KKR will not have Phil Salt, who has flown back to England on national duty, in the eleven. Although Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be an ideal like-for-like replacement, Shreyas Iyer and Co. haven’t officially named anybody.

Teams (from):

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson and Allah Ghazanfar.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Abid Mushtaq, Avesh Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Donovan Ferreira, Kuldeep Sen, Kunal Singh Rathore, Nandre Burger, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Rovman Powell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Trent Boult, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tanush Kotian

Match starts: 7.30pm.

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are seen during a practice session. File
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

The exclusion of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the list of centrally-contracted players was a decision that was solely taken by chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, BCCI secretary Jay Shah has revealed, asserting that “nobody is indispensable”.

Kishan and Iyer were left out after failing to show up for domestic engagements despite a directive from the BCCI. While Kishan went on a long break after the end of the ODI World Cup last year and remained unavailable until the IPL, Iyer eventually did feature in a few matches for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy including the semifinal and the final.

However, Iyer still found himself at the receiving end after it emerged that he had attended a Kolkata Knight Riders’ camp in Mumbai when his domestic side was busy playing a Ranji Trophy fixture.

“You can check the constitution. I am just a convener (of the selection meeting),” he said during a media interaction at the BCCI head office in Mumbai on May 9.

“That decision lies with Ajit Agarkar, even when these two players (Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer) who did not play domestic (cricket), the decision to drop them (from the central contracts list) was only his.

“My role is just to implement. And we have got new players (in place), like Sanju (Samson). Nobody is indispensable,” he added.

Shah reiterated the Board’s position that Indian players will have to prioritise domestic cricket.

In the days leading up to the contract snub, Shah had stated before the third Test between India and England in February this year that he would completely back the chief selector’s decision for any action on players who do not comply with the Indian captain and team management’s requirement for participation in domestic cricket.

Shah said he spoke with the players after their exclusion.

“Yes, I had spoken with them. Media had even carried the reports,” he said.

“Even Hardik (Pandya) said if BCCI is considering me for white-ball, then I am ready to play Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Any player will have to play, even if they do not want to, they will have to,” Shah continued.

Talking about high scores in this year’s IPL, Shah said ultimately, it comes down to who is playing well and who, as a player, can sustain performance.

“Whoever plays well in the IPL… like say Ishan Kishan, he finds it difficult to take part with the Indian team but he can play in Mumbai Indians as a player. There he can play in a relaxed manner.

“In Team India, you have to prove yourself, give back to back performances. The one who can handle that can be described as a right player,” he added.

Shah also revealed details of his conversation with Kishan, which took place after Mumbai Indians’ match against Gujarat Titans.

“No, I did not advise him anything. It was just a friendly talk that he should do well and I speak with all players like that,” he said.

While there have been a few media reports mentioning an increase in the match fees for domestic players in the country, Shah said there is no such plan.

“We have increased the pay anyway and also incentivised Test cricket. We had increased the pay by 100 per cent in 2022,” Shah added.

KKR captain Shreyas Iyer in action during a practice session ahead of the IPL match against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on May 2, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Kolkata Knight Riders’ assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said on Thursday that Shreyas Iyer had taken some major disappointments, including an injury setbacks ahead of a crucial international season, in a “positive way” and will return to the grind of playing domestic cricket to come back stronger.

Iyer was grappling with a back problem ahead of IPL 2024 and there were reports he could even miss a few games for KKR in IPL 2024. But the skipper has come back strongly, scoring more than 250 runs, including a half century.

The BCCI also dropped Iyer from the annual central contract list.

“Mentally, to have a mindset like that after being rejected or not getting his due, he has taken it very positively. Even when he talks about it, he is not negative, he understands he needs to go back and do well,” Nayar told the media during KKR’s training session.

“His mindset is to score runs, whether he plays the IPL, the Ranji Trophy or for India. He looks to score runs, it (disappointments) has affected him but the way he has handled it, kudos to him because I can imagine a lot of people reacting very differently than he has,” he added.

“Having known him for a really long time, without any bias, he is one of the strongest people mentally I have ever known, just in terms of how he has accepted certain things that have happened with him.

“I would have seen a lot of people cribbing and talking about it, but I haven’t heard him whine about it or complain about it at all. The way he has approached life is in a positive manner, what is in front of you, you try and accept it.

“His fitness is in his control, and he is feeling a lot better now. He is great on the field, he is batting longer hours, he’s trained really hard. Our strength and conditioning (coaches) and physios have worked hard with him,” Nayar added.

Under Iyer’s captaincy, KKR have secured six victories in nine games and are placed second on the table with 12 points, which positions them strongly to progress to the playoffs. But Nayar did not want to commit anything.

“I wish I could tell you that 16 (points) is good or 14 is good, but we never know. I think this competition is one of the toughest in the world. It’s a two-month competition which is a long competition,” said Nayar.

He drew parallels between IPL and Ranji Trophy, saying teams have to perform consistently throughout the tournament to achieve their goals.

“I often think about it like a Ranji Trophy, wherein you have to constantly play well and it’s not so much about how you play the first half but it’s also as important to play the second,” he said.

“Just in terms of points, we have seen teams that have been at the bottom of the table do really well against table toppers. It’s very hard to say this is going to be safe and this is enough. The more (points) the merrier (it is) for any team,” Nayar added.

Giving an update on batter Nitish Rana, Nayar said no timeline had been set for his return from a finger injury.

“He is on his way back to recovery. We are hoping that he is fit soon. We don’t have the timelines yet. But hopefully, he (has) started batting now. Still, getting match-fit is something he is working towards,” Nayar said.

Nayar said the motivation to beat Mumbai on their home turf, be it the IPL or Ranji Trophy, drives several rival sides.

“…wanting to go out and beat Mumbai, whether it is Ranji Trophy or the IPL, everyone wants to beat Mumbai,” he said.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ Shreyas Iyer plays a shot during the IPL 2024 cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata on April 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer completed 3,000 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday. The Indian batter reached this milestone during his side’s match against Delhi Capitals at the home ground of Eden Gardens.

During the game, Iyer played another useful cameo to steer his team to a win, scoring 33 runs in 23 balls, with three fours and a six. His runs came at a strike rate of over 143.

In 110 matches, Iyer has scored 3,027 runs at an average of 32.20 and a strike rate of 126.28, with 20 fifties. His best score is 96.

Iyer first represented Delhi Capitals from 2015-2021 and joined the Knights back in 2022. In 87 matches for DC, Iyer scored 2,375 runs at an average of 31.75 and a strike rate of 123.96, with 16 half-centuries. His best score was 96 for the Capitals. For KKR, Iyer has played 23 matches, in which he has scored 652 runs at an average of 34.52 and a strike rate of 135.55, with four half-centuries. His best score is 85.

This season has been a decent one for the KKR skipper with the bat. He has scored 251 runs at an average of 41.83, with a strike rate of 137.16. His best score is 50, which is his solitary half-century.

Virat Kohli from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is the highest run-scorer in the league’s history, with 7,763 runs at an average of 38.43 and a strike rate of 131.02. His best score is 113*. Virat has scored eight centuries and 54 fifties.

Aware that they cannot afford any more slip-ups, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will have their task cut out when they face dominant hosts Kolkata Knight Riders in a tricky Indian Premier League match in Kolkata on April 21.

RCB’s pursuit of a maiden IPL title has once again hit a roadblock following six losses in seven matches.

With five consecutive defeats, the bottom-ranked RCB now confront the daunting task of winning their remaining seven games to keep their playoff prospects alive.

For a side that has been severely let down by their bowlers and relies heavily on the batting prowess of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and veteran Dinesh Karthik, facing KKR presents a significant challenge.

“From a bowling perspective, we don’t have as many weapons. So, unfortunately, it comes down to the batters to make sure that we use our form and our confidence. The scores that we put on the board are probably going to be the only way we are going to get into the competition,” their skipper Du Plessis has admitted earlier.

The fact that they are coming after conceding the IPL’s record total of 287/3 by Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last match will undoubtedly linger in the minds of their bowlers.

It would not be a bad idea to bring back their most expensive (Rs 11.5-crore) buy this season, Alzarri Joseph, to go alongside Mohammed Siraj, who was not picked against SRH.

Joseph has bagged a solitary wicket in three appearances for RCB while also getting hammered at 11.89 runs per over.

Glenn Maxwell’s spin also could have been a nice option, but the struggling Australian all-rounder, who pulled out of the game against SRH citing “mental fatigue”, is also battling a hip strain that may keep him out of action for some more time.

Their batting has centred around the two openers — Kohli and Du Plessis — and Karthik, while the rest of the players have failed miserably.

Kohli is once again leading the run chart with 361 runs at 72.20, though his middle over strike rate of 135 has been a cause of concern.

The star Indian batter more often than not was seen to have slowed down against the spinners in the crucial 7-15th over phase after getting a start in the power play.

Du Plessis has been their next best batter with 232 runs, but it’s seasoned wicketkeeper-batter Karthik, who has been phenomenal in his final IPL season.

The veteran has amassed 226 runs at a strike-rate of 205-plus and in the monstrous chase against SRH, it was his 35-ball 83 that gave them hope of scripting an improbable win before they fell short by 25 runs.

The trio will again have to play a key role against the likes of Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana.

The home side will also be coming on the back of a defeat to Rajasthan Royals in a last-ball finish.

So KKR, who have played one match less then RCB, will also eye a return to winning ways and inch closer to playoffs by taking their tally to 10 points at the midway stage.

The biggest threat for RCB will be Narine, not just with the ball but also with the bat at the top of the order.

Narine, who scored his maiden T20 century in their last match against RR, is KKR’s leading run-getter this season with 276 runs at an incredible strike rate of over 187.

The next best KKR batter is his opening partner Phil Salt, who has struck at a rate of 151-plus.

The pair’s splendid form means that the likes of Rinku Singh, Andre Russell have got limited opportunities.

With a maiden fifty to his name, youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi has impressed with his batting.

RCB will have to target the KKR top-three to expose their batting and give themselves some chance.

With the city in the grip of an extreme heat wave, the temperature is expected to soar to 41-degree Centigrade come Sunday.

Teams (from):

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh and Saurav Chauhan.

Match starts at 3.30pm.

Rajasthan Royals batters Jos Buttler and Avesh Khan celebrate with teammates after Rajasthan won the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 cricket match against Kolkata Knight Riders, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on April 16, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Jos Buttler played one of the greatest IPL knocks on Tuesday night.

His sensational 107 not out (60b, 9×4, 6×6) gave Rajasthan Royals an unforgettable — and for much of the match — an unlikely last-ball win against Kolkata Knight Riders. The two-wicket victory has consolidated Royals’ position at the top of the table.

RR was set a daunting target of 224 by the host, thanks largely to Sunil Narine’s maiden career century (109, 56b, 13×4, 6×6). If RR was to win, it had to equal its own record of the biggest successful chase in IPL history.

That didn’t look likely when the Royals lost wickets regularly. When Shimron Hetmyer, who had taken them home in the last match, fell for a duck, the score read 121 for six in 12.2 overs.

A tall order it certainly was, with not much batting left. But Buttler’s 57-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Rovman Powell (26, 13b, 1×4, 3×6) allowed Royals to dream.

The dream was realised by Buttler, the Impact Player who had just the tail to support him. Forty-six were needed from the last three, then it came down to 28 off two.

Buttler took off 19 off the penultimate over, bowled by Harshit Rana, and then hit Varun Chakravarthy’s first ball in the last over over long-on for a six to ease the nerves of his teammates in the dugout. A single off the last ball dashed KKR’s hopes of a Super Over.

Like Buttler, Narine carried his team’s innings on his shoulders. He played strokes around this hallowed ground, but he seemed particularly keen to hit the bowlers over their heads.

Only one other batter reached 30, as the promising teenager Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30, 18b, 5×4) helped him add 85 for the second wicket. KKR had lost Phil Salt in the fourth over as Avesh Khan took a stunning one-handed return catch off his own bowling.

Narine and Raghuvanshi, however, went on to frustrate the Royals bowler. It took a fine yorker from Trent Boult to end Narine’s remarkable innings. But, this was going to be Buttler’s night.

Victory in their respective previous games might have eased the initial nerves but imperfections remain, hence Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders will eye a quick course correction to add steam to their campaign in an IPL 2024 match in Bengaluru on March 29.

The Royal Challengers defeated Punjab Kings by four wickets, while the Knight Riders elbowed out Sunrisers Hyderabad by four runs to garner some early points.

But entering the points table has not really eased some of the worries — particularly pertaining to the top and middle-order batting.

The Bengaluru dugout might be a happy space after star batter Virat Kohli made a classy fifty on an unusually gripping Chinnaswamy pitch while chasing 177 against Punjab the other night, but that’s only one part of the story.

Skipper Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Cameroon Green and Rajat Patidar are yet to hit the overdrive, and for the win against PBKS they had to rely on the last-minute cameos of Dinesh Karthik and ‘Impact Player’ Mahipal Lomror.

The Kolkatans have a much more capable bowling unit, at least on paper, and such a collectively underwhelming effort by frontline batters might push RCB into deep troubles against them.

Once they iron out that rough edges, RCB can look at their bowling unit that still needs to fill a couple of unticked boxes despite good outings by pacers Mohammed Siraj and Yash Dayal against Punjab.

Pacer Alzarri Joseph continues to be profligate and his figures — 0/38, 1/43 — might prompt the RCB think-tank to bring in England left-arm quick Reece Topley, who has impressive white-ball skills, in place of the West Indian for this match.

The Knight Riders offer a strikingly similar plot. Their top and middle-order consisting of captain Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine and Nitish Rana malfunctioned against SRH at the Eden Gardens.

It required a combined effort from impact sub Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell — the 6, 7, 8 — for them to post a competitive total.

Shreyas, who is central to their batting plans, was dismissed for a two-ball duck, but the return to Chinnaswamy might give him a sense of relief as he had fruitful outings in white-ball cricket in his last two innings.

The elegant right-hander made an unbeaten 128 against the Netherlands in last year’s World Cup before making a 53 against Australia in the fifth T20I in December.

In bowling, Narine redeemed himself with a frugal spell (1/19) after a modest effort with the bat, but pacer Mitchell Starc, their record buy, and Varun Chakravarthy failed to impress, leaking over 50 runs in their four overs.

The KKR think-tank might not be unduly worried as their campaign is still at a nascent stage, but they would like to see the first-choice pacer and spinner finding their range at the earliest.

But it is unlikely that the Knights will make changes to their eleven for this match, unless they want to give a go to promising leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, who showed fine form during KKR’s pre-season matches.

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Match starts at 7.30 PM.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Shreyas Iyer walks off the field after losing his wicket during the Indian Premier League cricket tournament match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Kolkata on March 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer on March 23 admitted his wobbling nerves when Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Heinrich Klassen was going ballistic in pursuit of a stiff 209-run target in an IPL match in Kolkata.

Chasing a stiff 209, Klassen (63 off 29b) single-handedly brought SRH within sniffing distance of an improbable win before eventually falling short by four runs.

“Right from the 17th over, I had butterflies in the stomach! To be honest, I thought anything can happen in the last over,” Iyer said.

SRH needed 13 runs off the last over and odds were in their favour with a red-hot Klassen and Shahbaz Ahmed at the crease.

But Iyer decided to throw the ball to young Harshit Rana and he didn’t disappoint either. Rana dismissed both Klaasen and Ahmed to stifle SRH.

“Harshit was a bit nervous when he was coming to bowl (the last over). I told him, ‘Even if we lose, it’s fine’. I tried to calm him down as much as possible.

“(Sunil) Narine and (Andre) Russell have got a lot of experience. I am elated to see how Russell performed with bat and ball. Sunny (Narine) executed well.

“It is a luxury to have them in the team. Whenever you start with a win, it gives you motivation. There are areas we need to improve on as a team – fielding is one of them!”

SRH skipper Pat Cummins said he never thought they would come so close while chasing an imposing 209 if not for Klassen’s terrific knock, who was ably supported by Ahmed (16 off 5).

“Close game in the end, wonderful game of cricket. Unfortunately, didn’t go our way. I thought for the most part, really happy with how we bowled,” he said.

“It’s one of those games, goes one way or the other, amazing job by Klaas (Klaasen) and Shahbaz to get us back into the game and get us into that position. Who would have thought we’d get that close.

“Unfortunately, a little bit too much. In a game where we didn’t really pull it all together. We still almost competed against a very good side at their home venue, lots to be encouraged by, lot of good performers, a couple of points to work on also,” Cummins added.

The ace Australian pacer said Andre Russell just took the game away from SRH with his exploits with the bat.

Russell was at his destructive best, smashing seven sixes and three fours enroute to his unbeaten 25-ball 64.

“Obviously, Dre Russ (Russell) at the end does what Dre Russ does, he’s pretty hard to contain. Overall, I thought we did a pretty good job,” he said.

“You do your planning, you try to execute your best but a pretty tough guy to bowl to, played some good shots, couple of balls maybe we could have bowled a little bit differently but the toughest job in cricket is bowling at someone like that in the end.”