• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Ipl 2020 This Will Affect Our Confidence Mccullum On Kolkatas Hapless Show Against Rcb

IPL 2020: This will affect our confidence - McCullum on Kolkata's hapless show against RCB

Sayantan Bhattacharjee

Kolkata Knight Riders faced a humiliating loss in the hands of Virat Kohli and his men on Wednesday night at Abu Dhabi in the Indian Premier League 2020. Pacer Mohammed Siraj proved to be too good for the KKR batters as he returned with figures of 3/8 in his four overs. Eoin Morgan’s men could only manage to score 84/8 - the lowest total in IPL without getting bowled out. 

The Bangalore-based side had no problems chasing such a total down and got home with more than six overs to spare. KKR coach Brendon McCullum said his batters showed a timid approach and that there was no intent whatsoever.  

The defeat will bite Kolkata bad as their net run rate of - 0.828 looks inferior to most of the teams in the race for a playoff berth. McCullum said there was no ghost on the pitch and added that it’s frustrating because the side discussed the importance of being positive and asking questions to the opposition bowlers.

"In all honesty, I didn't think there was a lot in the wicket. Siraj obviously bowled well and [Chris] Morris at times also. But if anything, we were just a little timid in our approach," McCullum said at the press conference. "That's a bit frustrating because we spoke at length before the game about trying to be positive and show some strong intent. So that's something we'll have to address in the next few days."

The Knight Riders still find themselves at the fourth spot with 10 points and four games in hand. McCullum still believes that there is enough fire-power and potential in the current side to go the distance. However, the going will be tough. 

"This is going to affect a little bit in terms of our confidence and [we need to] work hard on ensuring our morale doesn't drop. At the same time, having those honest conversations around how we improve. But I still firmly believe we have a side which can be there come finals time. We just need to improve slightly." he concluded. 

Powered by Froala Editor

Powered by Froala Editor

Discover more

Top Stories
news

IPL 2020 | CSK vs MI: Match Preview, Predicted XI & Dream11 Fantasy Picks

The clash between the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians would have been a clash of titans and have always been in the past encounters but the story is different this time around. The Super Kings are on a downward slope and have struggled to find a proper playing XI and ‘spark’ in players while the Mumbai Indians have been a force to reckon with in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League. Mumbai’s bowling attack has looked menacing, to say the least with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, James Pattinson whereas the bowlers in yellow have failed to step up to the challenges posed by conditions completely alien to what would be normal at Chepauk in Chennai. Interestingly, these two teams started the IPL 2020 with a bang with MS Dhoni-led CSK dominating Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians and it appeared that Dhoni’s men were ready to bury the ghost of Mumbai against whom they have a terrible record in the near past. CSK started their campaign on a resounding note while the Mumbai Indians had to find out answers to some questions that were put in front of them in the very first game. One month into the tournament and now it looks like the men in blue have found the problems and also their solutions while the men in yellow could not do justice to the big name and reputation it always rides on. The Super Kings have been blamed for showing a lack of courage and innovation in all processes of the game starting from team selection to outlook of batting at the start and in the middle overs. The team banked on experience more than the enthusiasm and energy of young players to do the job and after failing to achieve the goal, MS Dhoni almost conceded the season is over and hinted that youngsters will have a chance to go and express themselves with the pressure of losing now becoming irrelevant for the side. CSK’s coach Stephe Fleming said something after the loss against the Rajasthan Royals which nobody would have expected him to say before the commencement of the IPL 2020. He acknowledged that the team they picked after returning from a ban in the 2018 edition may well have run out of juice after a three-year-cycle which started with an IPL title followed by an IPL final in the last season. The statement was telling of what the days ahead may look like for the Super Kings and the team may go for an all-reset option before the IPL next year. Mumbai, on the other hand, will love to get back on the winning track after the loss in a euphoric against the Kings XI Punjab that went down to the wire and ended only after two super overs. Kieron Pollard had said that the team was disappointed but he felt that it was not the end of life and it showed the kind of mood in Mumbai’s camp. Mumbai was brilliant in the last game but was overrun by a resurgent Kings XI Punjab and now Rohit would remind his teammates about the warning he had issued about teams trying to catch up his side as the remaining days in the tournament are getting lesser and lesser. The outcome of the match will impact the points table minimally but Rohit would be hopeful of a win to come back to winning habit as he knows the value of momentum in tournaments such as the IPL. Chennai’s top order has failed to start at a brisk pace and their job is not getting any easier with Bumrah, Boult, and one of Pattinson or Nathan Coulter-Nile bowling to them in the powerplay. Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians: Match Details Match Number- 41 Date: 23rd October 2020, at 7:30 PM IST, 06:00 PM Local, 2.00 PM GMT Venue: Sharjah Broadcast: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch and Weather This will be the ninth match to be played at the Sharjah cricket ground and the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians will meet on a new pitch. A new pitch will help batsmen more than bowlers as the par scores have been reduced in the last few matches due to slowing pitches. A slight newish pitch will assist batsmen as balls will come nicely onto the bat. Captain winning the toss will be looking forward to chasing with short boundaries and expectations of a true pitch. The weather in Sharjah will be cooler in the evening time and humidity will hover around the 50 per cent range. Team News Chennai Super Kings Both MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming subtly hinted that youngsters will be given a chance with their chance to make it into the playoffs looking bleak. That would mean a return for one of Ruturaj Gaikwad and N Jagadeesan. They will have a point to prove after the remarks from MS Dhoni about the lack of spark in them to push experienced guys in the playing XI. Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out of the tournament and it will allow Josh Hazlewood a longer rope in the playing XI. Expected XI Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood Mumbai Indians Rohit Sharma’s team lost the last game but did not look out of the game till the winning shot by Mayank Agarwal and he would not be looking to change the playing XI. Nathan Coulter-Nile is likely to be persisted with as Rohit will be eyeing in options before the playoffs begin to have a proper backup ready in case of some injuries in the knockout phase of the league. Expected XI Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians: Dream 11 team and suggestion Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Sam Curran, Kieron Pollard, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult Captain: Rohit Sharma Vice-captain: Faf du Plessis

news

IPL 2020 ratings have gone through the roof, not surprised - Sourav Ganguly

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has revealed that the TV ratings of the Indian Premier League 2020 have gone through the roof. He also said that the success of the ‘best tournament’ didn’t come as a surprise to him. Ganguly stated that the board was unsure of hosting the 13th edition of the cash-rich event until the very end moments. There were uncertainties over the bio bubble environment, according to the former India captain. "Unbelievable (ratings have gone through the roof). I am not surprised with that. We were discussing with Star (official broadcasters) and all the people concerned, whether we should do it or not. One month before the tournament, we were not sure. We weren’t sure whether the bio-bubble would be effective. "No one knew what was going to happen but we trusted and went ahead. We felt life should return to normalcy, we wanted the game to come back. I am not surprised with the feedback. It’s the best tournament in the world. I can bet you, the IPL has been smashing success in terms of the ratings, the number of people who are watching," the BCCI president said. Ganguly highlighted the key moments of the ongoing tournament. The Super Overs, Shikhar Dhawan’s back-to-back centuries, KL Rahul’s good run and Chris Gayle’s emphatic show are all part of Ganguly’s mention. The high-profile Indian cricketers and other big names returned to competitive cricket for the first time since early March as Covid-19 outbreak put a halt on all cricketing activities.

news

RCB vs KKR: Hits and Flops as Siraj shines in Kolkata slaughter

Not the likeliest of the matches for the Kolkata Knight Riders where they, even without getting all out, could only make 84 runs off their 20 overs. But on the same wicket, their opponents Royal Challengers Bangalore scored those runs in just 13.3 overs with eight wickets in hand. Mohammed Siraj was the breakthrough star of the Bengaluru team in this match, picking up three crucial wickets. But it wasn’t Siraj alone as Chris Morris and spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar too played their part brilliantly. For Knight Riders, there was no one apart frr4oim thei9r captain Eoin Morgan at the start and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson at the end, who provided some resistance to the scathing attack from the red and gold. On that note, let’s have a look at the Hits and Flops from the game. Hits #1 Mohammed Siraj Mohammed Siraj was given the new ball on a pitch that was assisting the fast bowlers. The opportunity was grabbed Siraj with both hands as he not only took wickets with some brilliant display of swing bowling but also made history in the IPL by bowling two maiden overs in a row, becoming the only bowler in the 13-year-old league to have ever done such a thing. he got the wickets of opener Rahul Tripathi, getting him caught behind the stumps, while it took an amazing in swinger to castle Nitish Rana, the two wickets coming off consecutive deliveries. By the end of the first innings, his figures were 4-2-8-3, a dream for many bowlers practicing the trade in the entire world. He was rightfully adjudged Man of the Match. #2 Chris Morris Morris could not pick up any wicket but that does not rule out the fact that he was just brilliant in his spell. It wouldn't be unfair to say that the credit for Siraj's wickets must be given to Morris too as with his brilliant bowling was able to put pressure on the batsmen, the advantage of which was taken by Siraj and his swing as in frustration, the batsmen targeted him and thus gave away the wickets. Morris finished the game with figures of 0-16 in his four overs. #3 Yuzvendra Chahal The fast bowlers were getting assistance no doubt. But for a spinner to get the kind of purchase that Chahal and Washington Sundar were getting on the same wicket was something unusual. Just as a partnership was developing between current and former captains in the form of Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik, Chahal with his deadly googly, got rid of Karthik. In the match, the leggie got two wickets and gave away just 15 runs from his four overs. Flops #1 Shubman Gill Gill who had a brilliant start to this year’s IPL seems to be throwing it away as has been done by many before him. While most of the batsmen got out to some brilliant unplayable deliveries, what Gill got out to was a shot to bail himself out, which instead plundered him further. It is the reason, why he is on this list. His scores in the last three games have been 1, 36, and 23, but in all these innings, his strike rate has been dismal. But Gill should realize that he is in the team, not for his strike rate, but for his ability to anchor the innings. #2 Dinesh Karthik Karthik, having played 14 balls already and scored just four runs off it, he got out to a spinner. This was something unexpected of him as he has grown up playing spin on such wickets which offer some purchase to spinners. It was also the breaking up o that partnership that opened slush gates and the of the batsmen either got stuck, helping the scorecard, not even a single bit, were bowled out. The Knight Riders would now be playing their 11th game against Delhi Capitals on October 24 in a must-win game, while RCB will take on Chennai Super Kings which could be a dangerous proposition as the yellow brigade is already out of the tournament and hence could spoil the parties of the rest of the teams.