Internet Desk: After a promising start to their campaign in Indian Premier League 2016, Gautam Gambhir and his team bowed out of the championship following a disappointing loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad at Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday.
Chasing a target of 163 runs to win, the Sunrisers bowlers strangled the Knight Riders batsmen with their impeccable line and length to restrict them to 140/8. There were several key points which led to the two time champions getting eliminated. Former India cricketer Ashoke Malhotra sat down to make an analysis on the Knight Riders performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Andre Russell injury – The injury to Andre Russell was a huge blow to Knight Riders’ ambition of making it to their third IPL final. It was like a body blow for Kolkata as the Jamaican was a regular in the first eleven since the first match against Delhi Daredevils. The all rounder had an impressive show in IPL 9, scoring 188 runs from 12 matches and capturing 15 wickets. He injured his hamstring while bowling in the game against Royal Challengers at Eden Gardens. Since then the Knights managed to win only one match out of the last three they played.
“When you lose someone like Russell, it is difficult to replace,” said Gambhir in a post-match chat. Russell’s firepower down the order and his ability to pick wickets has been big positives for KKR this season.
Team Selection – The selection of the final eleven against Sunrisers Hyderabad has raised quite a few eye brows. There will be question marks over the selection of Jason Holder ahead of Shakib Al Hasan in the match against Sunrisers yesterday. The tall West Indian has been a huge disappointment for Knight Riders this season. Also R. Sathish hardly justified his selection.
Failure of middle order batsmen – The form of middle order batsmen like Surya Kumar Yadav, Shakib Al Hasan, Manish Pandey has also contributed to the failure of the Knights. The dismissal of inform Yusuf Pathan cheaply also made matters worse for the Knight Riders. Some of the shot selection was uncalled for , specially the one with which Surya Kumar Yadav got dismissed as it was not required at that stage.
Run Out of Munro – As Gambhir rightly put forward in his post match conference, the dismissal of Colin Munro was the turning point of the match. A par score of 160 runs wasn’t an impossible total to get on a pitch that wasn’t a minefield. Gambhir agreed.
“I thought it was a very good wicket to bat on, 160 was chaseable. I thought Colin (Munro)’s run-out was a turning point,” Gambhir explained.
Off form of Sunil Narine – The off form of Sunil Narine has been a huge factor in Knight Riders not doing well as a bowling unit. The mystery spinner has picked 8 wickets in 11 matches. Ever since making a comeback into international cricket after he was cleared to bowl by the ICC in April, he has not been the same effective with his remodeled action. The off form of Narine has put pressures on the likes of Piyush Chawla, Brad Hogg and Shakib al Hasan.
Yuvraj Singh brilliance – Knockout games like the one between KKR vs SRH expose big match temperament and ability. While Yuvraj Singh proved his class with a robust 30-ball 44 at No. 4 for Hyderabad, KKR missed a man who could play the role of an anchor.
Gambhir, Manish Pandey spurned good starts, Yusuf Pathan did not turn up on a big day and Jason Holder proved he is no AB de Villiers.
“Someone needed to play a Yuvi kind of cameo; it was an unbelievable innings that changed the momentum in their (SRH) favour. And if one of our batters continued like that, we could have won the game,” lamented Gambhir.
The defeat will leave the Knight Riders management a lot to reflect on.