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Kkr Vs Dc What Experts Said As Kolkata Sink Capitals In Dramatic Turnaround

KKR vs DC: What experts said as Kolkata sink Capitals in dramatic turnaround

Showing all the signs of a champion team, the Kolkata Knight Riders turned around their performances and tormented the Delhi Capitals after a dismal show against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the game preceding the last one. The team had started slowly but the pair of Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine found the timing to get going against the Delhi’s spinners and by the time the Capitals tried to stop them from running away with momentum, the duo had set a platform for the likes of Eoin Morgan to launch in the last few overs.

With the win, the KKR have staked claims on one of the spots in the top three and with three games remaining in the season, the men in purple and gold may well be on the track to seal a playoff spot.

Here we look at the views of both the captains and experts who expressed their reading of the game between the KKR and DC.

Captains’ take

Discussing what went wrong for his team, the losing captain Shreyas Iyer said that his side was thoroughly outplayed in all the departments and that his bowlers failed to apply pressure on batsmen. He spoke highly of the choice of shots made by the KKR’s batsmen and especially Sunil Narine found appreciation in Iyer’s words for picking the bowlers intelligently to go for the big shots.

"Looking at the start, we should have put a lot of pressure on them and gone for wickets. But the way they batted, especially how Sunil Narine went after us. We could have executed the plans better. I think they chose the bowlers to go after really well. They were really good in shot selection. They outplayed us in pretty much every department. Kudos to their approach and mindset,” Iyer said to the host broadcaster Star in the post-match interaction.

Iyer pointed out the loss of openers’ wickets very early in the innings that derailed any chance of Capitals’ attempt to chase the mammoth score set by the KKR. However, he did not issue cautions to his teammates and rather asked them to bat freely imposing the survival mindset upon themselves. He was optimistic about the lessons the team had to learn before the knockout phase of the tournament begins.

“You need an amazing start when chasing 190. Losing two wickets in the Powerplay puts a lot of pressure on the others. We need to play with freedom and not have a survival mindset. Obviously we are disappointed with the loss, but I am glad it is happening at this point of time. There are a lot of learnings from this game,” Iyer added.

On the other hand, the winning captain Eoin Morgan hailed all the stars of the win against the Capitals such as Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana and Varun Chakravarthy. He also said that the break the team got after their last game against the RCB which turned out to be a debacle actually helped the side regroup for the game.

He expressed satisfaction at the comeback of Sunil Narine as a proper all-rounder and also credited the coach Brendon McCullum for playing his cards in bringing back Narine into the fold. “We had had a nice couple of days to reflect on things. In such a compact tournament, it can be easy to get caught up. Great of Sunil to come back and play as a proper allrounder. And Nitish Rana and him adding all the runs. The decision to bat Narine there is all the coach. He likes to play his cards. It is all Brendon,” Morgan said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Morgan argued the need for having a longer batting line up in tournaments such as the IPL instead of a strong one behind his move to bat lower down the order. “Given the nature of the tournament, it is not a tournament where sides get 100 in top 10. You need a longer batting line-up than a strong one. That is why I am batting lower,” Morgan added.

Varun Chakravarthy had an awesome game, taking a fifer against the Delhi Capitals and the captain Morgan had some good words to recognise the role he has played for the KKR in IPL 2020. “Varun is such a humble guy. He just goes about his work. Throughout the tournament, he has been our standout performer,” Morgan said of Chakravarthy.

Experts’ take

Calling the game at the time when the pair of Narine and Rana were taking on the Delhi’s bowlers, Harsha Bhogle said that if the KKR go on to secure a playoff birth, the team management will do well to remember the partnership between the two left-handers in reviving the team’s campaign in the IPL 2020.

He took to his Twitter account to show displeasure about the KKR’s tactics of holding back Eoin Morgan for the latter overs to control the innings. However, he accepted in the end that the tactics worked well today as Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine put on a show allowing Morgan to finish strong in the end overs.

KKR bowled well and restricted the Delhi Capitals well below the target of 195 set by them and Harsha was not to miss out on admitting the kind of turnaround the KKR had produced in the game.

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra praised the KKR management for utilising the bowling resources in the IPL 2020 albeit they have received a lot of flak for the mismanagement in the games when tactics did not work. He pointed out the contrast the team has seen in the last two games with facing a humiliation against the RCB in the last game and coming back by decimating the DC in the next game.

He also spoke highly of Varun Chakravarthy who spun a web around the Delhi’s batting line up to earn a win for the KKR.

Chopra was of the opinion that the KKR’s win over the DC may well have killed the chances for many teams looking to catch up with them in a race to a playoff spot.

Discover more

Chris Morris talks RCB, Indian pace battery, Mother Cricket and more

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, hosted against all odds in the ongoing year is nearing its business end. The current season of the cash-rich league is unfurling to be one of its most entertaining ones in a long, long while, and to think of it, it was almost on the verge of getting cancelled by the raging Covid-19 pandemic. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India needs to be given full plaudits for that, it is the teams and their breath-taking performances that have kept the edition so competitive. Even after match 43, technically speaking, every team can still make it to the playoffs berth. Coming out of a six-month hiatus, it was clear that this was not going to be an easy tournament. Players would be sluggish off the lockdown, and teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore that have not traditionally done well were easier to be counted off the elite category. Especially after their big-money signing Chris Morris picking up a nasty side strain at the beginning of the tournament. “I’ve never had that kind of an injury and I got it when I was batting. I wasn’t hit by a ball or anything. I was just playing a shot and it was my stomach muscle,” Morris said. But, 2020 is not a normal year, and RCB are not a normal team. Since his return, Chris Morris has been prolific, to say the least, and the 33-year old has dished out incredible performances day in- day out and has been responsible for tying it all together for the trophy starved RCB camp. “The medical staff were incredible. We worked really hard, myself and the medical staff. It was a tough four weeks. I would wake myself at night every two hours and ice myself throughout the night.” For a team like RCB who have known to be poor in the death, Morris has brought his limitless knowledge and an effective approach that has reaped rewards this season. But is there added pressure, because of that? Morris does not think so. “Cricket, in general, comes with pressure, IPL comes with pressure, life comes with pressure. I don’t think death bowling has been a problem, maybe a little bit of guidance was needed, and maybe a change of thinking. I think us practicing hard is showing up in our games.” Having said that it is not just the inclusion of Morris that has brought in the change. A team that has traditionally been heavy on the abilities of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers has turned up with other match winners in every segment of the game. Take for example, Devdutt Padikkal who has been outscoring Aaron Finch at the top, Washington Sundar bowling in the powerplay, Navdeep Saini with his blistering pace and for that matter Mohammad Siraj, who blew away Kolkata Knight Riders with his spell of 4-2-8-3. Morris was all praises for the Indian contingent at the RCB and reminiscing the Siraj spell he said, “Ah man, you don’t see something like that happen often in any format of the game, especially in T20s. The way Siraj came back from the tough game last time. I like to call him the rouge, cause he is a rouge bowler. He is a great competitor to have on the field.” Mohammad Siraj’s bowling is a good example of what has changed in RCB this year. In the previous years, you would see a lot of experimentation with athletes playing out of their comfort zone. Let’s take Siraj’s case. He earned his name in the domestic circuit bowling at the top but was never given the role of a strike bowler. He bowled up top against KKR and produced a spell that turned out to be the best ever in the IPL history. Morris said that it is incredible that the staff backs its players and that he is enjoying a lot with working with the Indian players at RCB. “I was with (Navdeep) Saini in Delhi and I could not believe that he wasn’t playing in our team.” He said that Saini impressed him in Delhi bowling at rocket speed and he proclaimed that India was in good hands when it comes to their fast bowlers. “The amount of work rate that these guys put in is really impressive. They bowl, they bowl, they bowl, they bowl. They are working hard will Dale (Steyn), talking about how to get the seam right and to see that come to fruition in the last game is incredible.” Players this season have been fielded to their strengths and have been kept at a happy space by some incredible background work by the franchise. The RCB social media has been abuzz with activities and is testament to how modern teams handle the aspect of mental health. “The RCB management have been unbelievable. We’ve got a beach to ourselves and last night we had a BBQ. They have done everything to keep us comfortable. Our bio bubble has been really cool.” Not only the bio-bubble, the team has also looked comfortable on the field too. While several franchises like CSK, KKR and SRH have struggled to find a combination, RCB have settled in and are currently hold the third spot in the table. Asked about the playoff positions and if he thinks RCB will make it comfortably a wary Morris replied that the playoffs are not secured till they are secured. “The focus is to win the next game and take it step by step and till winning becomes a habit.” Morris further stated that he has not had a bad day yet, but knowing IPL, it would come and he stated that the bounce-back ability needs to be high if a team wanted to win the IPL. “I haven’t been smacked really yet, and that’s going to come. But it is important to learn from it and fix the next ball. The bounce-back ability needs to be good.” Speaking about their next game against Chennai Super Kings, Morris said that any team playing in the IPL needs to be well prepared given the history of the Chennai based team. “How many trophies have CSK won? It’s also the southern derby so…No game in the IPL is a cakewalk.” However modest Chris Morris be, it can be argued that RCB are looking the best since the inception of the tournament. They have a good playing combination, great bunch of players in the bench who have come in and showed that they belong. Morris stated that the team’s immediate goals were to make it to the playoff position and if they finish in the top two, it would be a cherry on top. “There is a lady called Mother Cricket who will sort you out if you think like that. Just when you think that you’ve gotten ahead of yourself, Mother Cricket will go, ‘Calm down, down act smart’ and it’s gonna bite you in the bum,” Morris signed off.

KKR vs DC: Chakravarthy's fifer puts Kolkata's campaign back on track

Shimron Hetmyer and Shreyas Iyer perished in two successive deliveries - both looking to clear the long-on fence but ended up losing their wicket to Varun Chakravarthy. The two dismissals put an end to Delhi’s chase as they were floored by Eoin Morgan’s men in Abu Dhabi. Chakravarthy scalped a few more sticks to bag his maiden five-for in the IPL - first five-wicket haul by a KKR bowler since Sunil Narine did it in 2012. Narine plundered big after Powerplay, Poor tactics hurt Capitals Delhi conceded 115 runs in the middle overs i.e from the 7th to 16th over. Sunil Narine joined hands with Nitish Rana to stitch a vital stand after the Delhi bowlers restricted Kolkata to 42/3 at one stage. Rana hit a watchful 81 off 53 balls while Narine scored an entertaining 32-ball 64. Ordinary feilding coupled with poor tactics didn’t help the Delhi side. The pace pack comprising Kagiso Rabada and Andre Nortje didn’t bowl a single short delivery to Rana as the batters kept milking runs. The pacers bowled full and hardly tested KKR batters with variations. Ravi Ashwin’s introduction against two left-handers made little sense as it encouraged Narine to go big without any threat. Rana hit 13 boundaries and one six as Kolkata posted 194/6 on the board. Delhi, in reply, got off to the worst possible start - losing Ajinkya Rahane in the very first ball of the chase. Pat Cummins got the ball to jag back into the batter after it pitched outside off-stump to trap Rahane’s pad. Cummins then removed in-form Shikar Dhawan to put Capitals in hot water. Skipper Iyer and Rishabh Pant tried to put on a rescue act and together the duo amassed 63 runs for the fourth wicket. Iyer hit five fours but fell just short of a fifty by three runs. Delhi chase was well but over once their captain head back to the pavilion. The 59-run loss will hamper the net run rate of the Capitals, who look to finish in the top-two. On the other hand, Kolkata took a major leap and are now at 12 points - four clear off the next team on the table.

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

The last match of the weekend will see a contest between the teams sitting at the complete opposite ends of the points table of the Indian Premier League this year. Mumbai Indians have ticked all the boxes this year and even when the team has lost few games, it did not look out of sorts like the Rajasthan Royals who have not found a sustainable way of winning matches after an initial burst of powerful batting performances in the tiny ground in Sharjah. The pink team is packed with international stars who can turn the games on their heads and they have been able to do that in the past seasons. However, for some unknown reason, the team has struggled for their fragility, especially the batting star who has been failing continuously to provide any bit of momentum to the side. Royals’ captain Steve Smith has numbers that are now so unbecoming for a player of his stature and the story is similar with two English stars who have played soul-changing roles in the resurgence f English cricket in white-ball format. Ben Stokes has been asked to bat first since the time he has entered into the fray in the IPL 2020 and Steve Smith and Andre McDonald have been fiddling around too much with the top order that has seen Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Robin Uthappa, Yashasvi Jaiswal batting at different times during this season. The constant chopping and changing shows the inability of the team management to spot the potential early in the tournament and rather banking on trial and error method to reach the best possible XI. On the other hand, the Mumbai Indians have not lost the momentum they got after the loss in the opening game of the season and have invariably beaten almost every team that has come their way. The bowling looks threatening as ever with Trent Boult in form of his life with the white new ball and looks as menacing and deadly as he looks with the red Kookaburra in New Zealand. Jasprit Bumrah has always been a lethal force to reckon with in the IPL and now teamed up with Boult, he is squeezing batsmen and in the end, winning all the battles he is coming up against. On the batting front, the team has never looked more stable and demeaning for bowlers in the opposition line up with all the batsmen always looking to up the ante and dictate terms rather than sitting for loose balls to cash in. On the night against the CSK, when Rohit Sharma had missed out fue the hamstring injury, Ishan Kishan was promoted to the top of the order and he pounced on the opportunity to cash in and belted the Super Kings bowling attack to all parts of the ground. Quinton de Kock is not wasting he good form either and has been going berserks with amazing consistency for the team to dictate the pace of the game. The kind of cricket these sides have played so far in the season is evident by their standings on the points table where the Mumbai Indians are sitting at the top of the table and the Ryals are languishing at the bottom, just above the Chennai Super Kings who have been nothing but dismal in this season. Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians Match Number - 45 Date: 25th October 2020, at 7:30 PM IST Venue: Abu Dhabi Pitch and weather The Rajasthan Royals and the Mumbai Indians will get an opportunity to use the new balls as they will be playing on a new surface. The last match played at the same ground, but on an old pitch yielded almost 200 runs from the bats of Kolkata Knight Riders and looking at the firepower in the batting departments of both teams, it could well be another high scoring game in Abu Dhabi. The team which will excel in bowling should have an upper hand in the contest and there lies the advantage for the Mumbai Indians who have been a top-notch bowling side this season. The weather conditions in Abu Dhabi are likely to be pleasant to play cricket with the temperature hovering around sub 30 degree-level and humidity approximately at 50 per cent. Team News Rajasthan Royals The Royals don’t have any major injury concern and the team had pulled off a big win against the Chennai Super Kings and Steve Smith is likely to field an unchanged XI against the Mumbai Indians. However, the trio of Smith, Butler and Stokes will be under immense pressure to come good for the team as they can’t afford more lapse in the IPL 2020. Expected XI Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson (wk), Steven Smith (c), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Kartik Tyagi Mumbai Indians Rohit Sharma missed the last game against the Chennai Super Kings due to a hamstring injury and the Mumbai team management is likely to avoid taking any chance with him looking at the playoffs of the IPL 2020. The team is any way at the top of the table and the prize for rushing Rohit’s return is not that high. Saurabh Tiwary was brought in his place and the Jharkhand batsman is likely to be retained in the playing XI for Sunday night's clash against the Rajasthan Royals. Expected XI Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard (c), Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians: Dream 11 team and suggestion Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Jos Buttler, Suryakumar Yadav, Riyan Parag, Robin Uthappa, Kieron Pollard, Ben Stokes, Jasprit Bumrah, trent Boult, Jofra Archer Captain: Quinton de Kock Vice-captain: Jos Buttler

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

Chennai Super Kings and Royals Challengers Bangalore have had contrasting fortunes in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2020. Skipper MS Dhoni recently stated that the remaining games would be an opportunity for them to prepare for the next season of the money-spinning event. On the other hand, Virat Kohli and Co. are looking to extend their winning streak as they have their eyes in the top-two berth of the points table. Chennai will have their task cut out against RCB. The side brought in the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Narayan Jagadeesan but both failed to open their account against Mumbai Indians. CSK suffered a 10-wicket loss to Mumbai - their first in IPL history. The batters were rattled by Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah’s pace as they found themselves in the receiving end yet again. Sam Curran’s fifty was the only saving grace in an otherwise forgettable encounter which saw them slip to 21/5 at one stage. The three-time champions are likely to give a long rope to the youngsters in the side. CSK opt for dress-rehearsal; RCB eye top-two spot "We have to make the most of the next three games and it is good preparation for the next year. Identify the batsmen, who will bowl at the death and hopefully the players will soak up the pressure," Dhoni said after yet another loss in the 13th edition of the IPL. They will run into a side which is high on confidence. Virat Kohli’s men are looking for a hat trick of wins. The batters have done well for RCB this season and the bowling pack look sharp. The side picked massive wins against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. AB de Villiers hasn’t aged a day as he looks fitter with each passing game. The veteran batsman has received an ample amount of support from the likes of Devdutt Paddikkal and Kohli. The pace trio of Navdeep Saini, Chris Morris and Isuru Udana have been phenomenal with the ball. Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar have stepped up to the occasion as well. Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore: Match Details Match Number - 44 Date: 25th October 2020, at 3:30 PM IST Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Pitch Report: The wicket is likely to throw up an even contest between the bat and ball. The ball has done its bit for the pacers and the spinners have joined the party as well. It has been a two-paced surface hence the batters have often been watchful at the start before going big. Weather Report and Toss: As it’s an afternoon game, teams would look to bat first to avoid the scorching heat and put up anything between 165-175 in order to have a crack at the opposition. Hence, toss would play a key role. Expected XI: Chennai Super Kings: Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, N Jagadeesan, MS Dhoni (C&WK), Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, R Sai Kishore/Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood, Imran Tahir and Shardul Thakur Royal Challengers Bangalore: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers (WK), Gurkeerat Singh, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Mohammad Siraj/Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal and Navdeep Saini Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore: Dream 11 team and suggestions AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Aaron Finch, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sam Curran, Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini and Imran Tahir Captain: AB de Villiers Vice-Captain: Sam Curran