IPL 2019: Why defending totals is turning out to be KKR's biggest nemesis

Kolkata Knight Riders sit at the second position in the IPL points table after playing half of their league stage games, with 4 wins from 7 games. They started IPL 2019 with a bang, winning four of their first five games, with the only loss coming through a fiercely contested super over. But they have tapered off since.

KKR looked in full control until CSK hammered them on a turning Chepauk wicket. And now after their defeat to Delhi Capitals, they are tied at 8 points with three other teams (MI, DC, and KXIP) and slightly ahead of them in terms of net run rate. Also, Mumbai Indians have played one match less as compared to the other three, so they could displace KKR from the second position with a win tomorrow.

In seven games, KKR have batted first three times and have lost all three of those matches. All four of their wins have come while chasing.

A closer look at the wins gives an indication of how the wins have depended greatly on some inhuman hitting by Andre Russell. Never before in the IPL has a team managed to chase down 53 runs in the last 3 overs. But KKR have achieved the feat twice this season already, courtesy Russell's strong finishes against SRH and RCB.

However, it is while defending totals that KKR have faltered big time. The match against Delhi Capitals at Kotla saw them somehow managing to escape a crushing defeat and drag the game to the Super Over, while the game against CSK saw a miserable display of batting. And the home game against Delhi saw the bowlers getting hit all over the park.

Vulnerable top order

Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine form one of the most destructive opening pairs in the world. However, both of them have not been in great form with the bat this season.

Barring the game against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur, where both of them rode their luck to forge a 94-run partnership, Lynn and Narine have been mere shadows of themselves this season. Moreover, Robin Uthappa continues to be guilty of throwing away starts.

Nitish Rana for some reason has not shown the right application while batting first and Shubman Gill's batting position has not helped him (except for the home game against Delhi).

Dinesh Karthik did play a good knock against DC in the away game, but failed in the other two. Russell has been the lone consistent performer, with scores of 62, 50* and 45 while batting first.

The vulnerable top order has cost them in all three games, and particularly against CSK where they managed only 109 and were down to 76/9 at one stage.

Unreliable bowling

Death bowling would be a concern for KKR - this was a fact every team knew even before the start of the tournament. They do not have any reliable overseas pacer who can bowl at the death, nor do they have any experienced Indian pacer to do the job.

The weak bowling got overshadowed by Russell's monstrous hitting in the games where they bowled first. But the problem came to the fore once they were asked to defend.

That said, Prasidh Krishna has shown some promise along with Harry Gurney, who has played just two games. Russell not being able to bowl due to injury concerns has made the matters worse, making KKR heavily reliant on their spin trio (Kuldeep, Chawla and Narine).

The spinners were at a disadvantage at their home ground against Delhi as the pitch actually suited Delhi's style of play. Against CSK, they simply did not have enough on the board and the experienced CSK batsmen made sure they played out the spinners safely on a helpful track.

The tied game at Kotla was actually a lost cause until Kuldeep gave away just 5 runs in the last over when 6 runs were required.

That KKR are over-reliant on Russell is no secret. Nor is the fact that they are weak in the pace department, especially while defending. Their home track, which does not assist the spinners as much as it used to, makes matters worse for them.

It is high time the top order starts firing and the experienced Uthappa and Karthik start contributing on a more regular basis. There is also a case to be made for getting the best out of Gill by sending him to the top of the order, replacing one of the out-of-form openers.