Kolkata Knight Riders, after three wins from six matches, had a strong chance to get closer to the top two teams in the table; they reduced Chennai Super Kings to 134 at their home ground, marched to 52 runs in five overs, but then took a U-turn to hand the match back to the hosts. Two points gone, Super Kings back on top, and Knight Riders lost their second match in a row.
Now the same two teams move to Kolkata from Chennai, just like the BCCI power centre did so nearly two months ago. A few changes have happened already in this one-day gap. Sunil Narine’s offbreak has been banned and R Ashwin has been ruled out for two matches with a finger injury. Brad Hogg’s stellar show of 1 for 18 from four overs will subside Knight Riders’ worries, but Super Kings will have to find an able replacement for their offspinner, who finished with 2 for 5 from his two overs.
Apart from the win on Tuesday, Super Kings have an upper hand with their fielding too. Either Dwayne Bravo or Faf du Plessis takes a spectacular catch every match and even Kryptonite can’t stop Brendon McCullum from flying. The Knight Riders batsmen will have to make sure they clear the boundaries to make such efforts ineffective.
Form guide
Kolkata Knight Riders LLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Chennai Super Kings WWWLW
Watch out for…
All through the tournament Knight Riders had been relying on their pacers. On Tuesday, they dominated with the ball because of their spin attack. So what if Narine has been banned from bowling the delivery he bowls the most? Piyush Chawla stepped up in his absence as first-change and dismissed Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Bravo, conceding only 26 runs. The 44-year-old Hogg then bowled as if he had played all the matches till now and bowled a frugal spell of 1 for 18. He was playing after exactly three months.
A livewire in the field, wily with his slower balls and a treat to watch for his footwork during his celebrations, Dwayne Bravo has not made much of an impact with the bat yet. Barring his 36-ball 62 against Rajasthan Royals 10 days ago, he has mostly made single-digit scores. With Faf du Plessis not fully in his element, Bravo has a good chance to step up and prove why he has been a sure starter so far.
Stats and trivia
Super Kings have not made any changes to their playing XI so far. Every other team has made at least three changes. That will, however, certainly change on Thursday due to Ashwin’s absence.
Super Kings have successfully defended a total of 150 or less seven times in the IPL, the most for any team
Gautam Gambhir has 11 IPL ducks, joint-most by any player along with Harbhajan Singh
Quotes
“If we win we win, if we lose we lose.”
Brad Hogg did an MS Dhoni after Knight Riders’ two-run loss in Chennai.
