Mike Hesson, a former coach of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), showered KKR with accolades and said the Kolkata team deservedly earned a position in the playoffs. On May 11, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by a commanding 18 runs at Eden Gardens to become the first side in the ongoing IPL 2024 season to guarantee a postseason spot.
Under the guidance of Gautam Gambhir, KKR has been one of the most impressive teams in the IPL this season. With nine victories in 12 games, they are presently leading the points standings. They had won four straight after defeating MI.
The hosts were set to bat first in the game, which was impacted by rain, and they scored 157/7 thanks to important contributions from Rinku Singh (20 off 12), Andre Russell (24 off 14), Venkatesh Iyer (42 off 21), and Nitish Rana (33 off 23). As a result of the hosts’ tight play, Varun Chakravarthy (2/17), Russell (2/34) and Harshit Rana (2/34) limited MI to 139/8.
After the game, Mike Hesson had nothing but admiration for the well-rounded KKR unit.
“KKR earned their spot in the playoffs and has earned it well. Their IPL performance has been nothing short of extraordinary. They hit deeply and have a batting lineup that includes numerous match winners. “Anyone can win the game on any given day,” Jio Cinema’s Mike Hesson stated.
Additionally, they possess all that power on the back end: Mike Hesson KKR’s depth at bat was pointed out as their greatest asset by Hesson. “We’ve seen how the top order and openers perform, but they also have so much strength at the back end. Hesson continued, “Ramandeep is an unsung hero, too.
Additionally, the Kiwi praised KKR’s bowling attack. “And these guys are really good seamers; if there’s anything in the wicket, Chakravarthy and Narine will take advantage of it.” Even though Starc hasn’t played well lately, he still has the ability to win a game on his day. Thus, they truly are the real deal,” Hesson continued.
This IPL, KKR has emerged as the club to beat because of their excellent all-around lineup. They are match-winners both with the bat and the ball, and they have good condition adaptation. A victory would guarantee a position in the playoff qualifying and a top-two finish. Under the guidance of Gambhir and led by Shreyas Iyer, the two-time champions finally appear to be serious title challengers in the IPL 2024 after years of underperformance.
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