IPL: KKR need to win a mental battle after meltdown against Punjab Kings

It’s been 10 days since Kolkata Knight Riders folded up for a measly 95 against Punjab Kings at the latter’s home venue of Mullanpur. The revenge theme must be playing on the minds of the defending champions as they clash at home at Eden Gardens on Saturday, but the first challenge for their batters is to shore up their confidence levels.

Two back-to-back defeats at the halfway stage, the last one a limp chase against Gujarat Titans at home, have thrown the Knights’ play-off hopes in jeopardy. They are now in seventh position with only three wins from eight matches, and need to win at least five of the remaining six games to rustle up 16 points in all, and then hope for the best.

The Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings, on the other hand, have been more consistent on the road and are now part of a mid-table joust with five wins out of eight, to lie in fifth position. The task is hence cut out for the Knights who, despite having a plethora of attacking batters at their disposal, have failed to complement what has been a largely impressive performance by their bowlers. 

Much to their credit, neither KKR’s senior pro Moeen Ali or their mentor Dwayne Bravo were in denial, the former urging his teammates to have some fun as well and go on to express themselves. ‘’Our batters have failed in the last two games but in a long tournament like this, such a thing can happen. We can take a leaf out of the book of Mumbai Indians who have won four of their last five matches but it’s going to take a lot of determination,’’ remarked the former England allrounder, who retired from all forms of international cricket late last year.

A closer look at the KKR batting woes, contrary to last season, reveals the lack of a settled line-up, the absence of someone like Shreyas who would anchor the innings, and a lack of accountability from the likes of expensive Venkatesh Iyer (worth Rs 23.75 crore), Rinku Singh and old warhorse Andre Russell. Add to this the failure of openers Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine when compared to the blazing starts given by the Phil Salt-Narine duo in the 2024 season.  

The rare silver lining has come in the form of skipper Ajinkya Rahane and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who were on the job in chasing the below par total against Punjab Kings until the collapse against the wily Yuzvendra Chahal. ‘’It was around 30 to 40 minutes of poor cricket from us. You can never forget these things, but we have to move on,’’ said Moeen.

Replying to a query about if the Chahal factor (the seasoned leggie has returned a haul of four for 28) will weigh on the KKR batters, Moeen felt: ‘’The players have played Chahal many a time and have done well against them.’’

The onus is now on the defending champions to make three of their home matches out of six remaining league games count, and their time starts on Saturday.

 Catch the match

 KKR vs Punjab Kings

 Eden Gardens, Saturday, 26 April

Start: 7.30 pm IST