IPL 2024 By defeating Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets at Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders were able to resume their winning ways. Following three straight victories, the two-time champions were defeated by Chennai Super Kings in their most recent game; nevertheless, they raised their game against LSG and won rather easily.
LSG never seems at ease when batting first. Quinton de Kock was removed in the match’s second over by Vaibhav Arora, who provided the breakthrough following a strong opening over. However, despite making 39 runs off just 27 deliveries in the end, captain KL Rahul was still having trouble with his strike rate. The onus once again came on Nicholas Pooran as Ayush Badoni, who was outstanding in the last game, failed to impress against the KKR spinners.
Lucknow scored 161 runs thanks to 45 runs off 32 deliveries by Pooran. While Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy were outstanding in the middle overs, Mitchell Starc, who was heavily criticized prior to the game for his poor bowling, took three wickets. It’s astonishing, to say the least, that Narine didn’t let up a single boundary during the game.
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In the chase, KKR gained a lot of momentum as Shamar Joseph gave up a lot of runs in the opening over. Despite Narine’s lack of success with the ball, Phil Salt, his opening partner, was outstanding as he amassed his second half-century of the year. The team won by eight wickets thanks to his 89 runs off 47 deliveries and Shreyas Iyer’s 38 runs off 38 balls. Together, they stitched together a 120-run partnership.
Speaking Points
1. LSG is dominated by vintage Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine was a topic of much discussion before the season began, with many debating whether the team should keep him or if the player still has it. Narine silenced them with a series of outstanding performances, and the Eden Gardens match against LSG that evening was no exception. The skilled all-rounder removed Ayush Badoni after giving up only 17 runs in his four overs. It is remarkable in the current game of cricket that he didn’t give up a single boundary during the encounter.
2. Pooran is largely dependent on lustful LSG
For LSG this season, it has been a trend. The team has relied largely on Nicholas Pooran, with the exception of their most recent game against the Delhi Capitals. It was the same in the game versus KKR. As always, captain KL Rahul must lead by example, and Quinton de Kock, Ayush Badoni, and Marcus Stoinis must all play more consistently. The team must be aware that Pooran is not always able to bring them home.
3. Iyer’s cautious strategy contrasted with Salt’s blitzkrieg
Iyer’s performance has to be watched, but Phil Salt once again produced an outstanding inning that ultimately helped KKR win another two points. Salt was hitting for fun on one end, but Iyer was playing many dot balls on the other, which may have put pressure on KKR if the goal had been 200+. The squad has a lot of hope for the remaining games because of Salt’s play, but the captain still needs to improve his strike rate.
Losing skipper KL Rahul said:
One of those days, it was a proper hammering. Games like these are tough to digest and we have seen in IPL and every team goes through that. We will try and work out what went wrong and come back better. The ball started nipping around a lot more in the second innings, the shots that we played in the first innings, didn’t execute well and kept losing wickets in bunches and we could have got a lot more runs and that’s where we missed and lost the game.
He (Shamar Joseph) is bowling pretty quick, Shamar was very excited and wanted to bowl fast, sprayed it around a little bit but that happens when you are playing your first game in the IPL. He needs to work on consistency in line and length, obviously got the ball to swing and seam around in the powerplay. Not panicking (about back-to-back losses), need to figure out where we went wrong and the last couple of games we haven’t been able to get past 160 and that’s something we want to see and be better at it.
Winning skipper Shreyas Iyer said:
Pretty much comprehensive victory. Fielded well and bowled well. Was important to bowl slower ones as much as possible because of the heat and the wicket becoming dry. We executed phenomenally well. When we got wickets, it gave us the advantage to come in and put an attacking effort. Character and attitude bowlers showed was exceptional. Will keep reiterating that it’s a funny tournament and have to stay in the present as much as possible. Have to seize the moment and not leave it on someone else.
POTM Phil Salt said:
Said to Swanny before the game, I felt I was melting. Good to get another win home. Before the lights came on, it was a bit slower. After lights came on, there was some moisture and it quickened up. I’ve loved it (his time here). Got some great overseas players, some great coaches. GG is back in the fold which is great. Not much running today (his boundary hitting).
India
