Showing posts with label Kolkata Knight Riders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kolkata Knight Riders. Show all posts
What is it about us KKR fans that makes us so passionate about our team, our cricket? Why do we have the biggest fan club in the IPL, convincingly doubling the number of fans any of the past champions have? Consider these numbers and facts before we move ahead in this blog.
Four teams have won 2 games out of the 5 that they’ve played. The teams that have these stats are CSK, DD, KKR, and RR. The Royals won the first IPL, the Super Kings and the Daredevils were semi finalists in both IPL years, and the KXIP were semi finalists in the first edition. The Kolkata Knight Riders remain the only team in this group of teams with similar statistics who have not performed satisfactorily in either of the two years.
Yet, you’d be hard pressed to find as many fans that are as distraught as we are. The team stands on the 6th position in the league standings, so all is not yet lost. There are still loads of games to come and what we do now is what matters.
We were beaten convincingly by the Mumbai Indians on the 22nd of March. We should’ve used the start provided by Ganguly and Gayle. We should’ve launched an attack after 10 overs, knowing that even a wicket an over from here meant that we would complete our stipulated 20. But we didn’t. Call it team strategy or lack of hitting ability, or a bad batting track. We should’ve bowled better, Bond and Ishant should’ve maintained a better line and length and Karthik should’ve taken Tendulkar’s catch. All these ‘should haves’ make an interesting conversation, but what we need to do now is change from ‘what we should have’ and talk about ‘what we can’.
Take a look at what happened in the past two years in IPL. Last year DC won 7 matches and lost 7 matches! RCB won 8 and lost 6. And they made it to the finals. In IPL 2008, CSK lost 6 matches and they made it to the finals too. The tournament is demanding, but its main advantage is that teams can make a comeback even after being on the brink of extinction.
We have our next match on the 27th against the Kings XI Punjab. A lot of days to consider and reconsider our strategy, team composition, our strengths, and our weaknesses. Let’s not discard our team as repeaters of history. Our support is what makes the team.
Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo re! We are on the back foot, but we haven’t lost out. There are many more miles to go and many more promises to keep.
Match day today, and the Knights are charged up and refreshed after their 4 day gap. They take on the Rajasthan Royals - winners of the first edition of the IPL. Warne’s team hasn’t been doing very well this year so they’ll be looking to bounce back and register their first win. KKR need to be wary of that. Plus they’re playing in their makeshift home ground in Ahmadabad and the crowd will back them, which is always good for a team. Hopefully, the moth problem has been solved, and we will have an exciting game on hand, without these petty issues.
A win for KKR today, takes them right back to the top of the table. KKR also have the net run rate in mind which is going to be crucial later in the tournament. If KKR can win convincingly, then there’s nothing like it. But first things first, they need to focus on playing good cricket. The win will come eventually. The Rajasthan Royals is a team that’s been plagued with injuries - Greame Smith and Dmitri Mascarenhas are both out of the tournament. Warne and Yusuf Pathan are the two danger men in the enemy camp. Both can win matches single handed. But the Royals are not in the best of form, and KKR need to capitalize on that.
In KKR camp, they have Chris Gayle back, so that will definitely give the team more options in how we want to go about in our team selection. His inclusion will improve the batting strength. Batting was one of the weak points during the CSK match they lost. Langeveldt if deemed fit, is another option we will look at, because bowling well in the death overs is always important – again, something KKR were reminded of in their last match.
Luckily, KKR are one of the few teams that have not really been bothered by injury woes a lot. Their home matches in the first phase of the league are over and each game now will be played without the amazing support they get at the Eden Gardens. Many of the teams have been getting good scores the past few days, and if they bat first, that’s what the Knights will look to do as well. A 200+ score will not only ease the pressure on the bowlers, it’ll also help with the net run rate.
Saurav hasn’t been in top form, so he’ll look to score today. The Royals have a good spin attack, but if Dada loves playing spin bowling and if he gets going, Ahmadabad could see a lot of balls disappearing over their heads. Angelo ranks second in the list of top wicket takers in IPL, and it’d be great if he overtakes Chaminda Vaas and wears the purple cap. Not that you’d find a difference though - KKR already wears purple caps.
