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After losing their first game to Punjab Kings (PBKS) by just seven runs (Duckworth Lewis Method), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 81 runs in the 9th match of the tournament on April 6 at Eden Gardens.
KKR recovered from a top-order collapse after Shardul Thakur's explosive 68(27) and Rinku Singh's assured 46(33) ensured that they could cross 200 runs in the first innings.
They set a target of 205 runs, an extremely challenging target for the hosts. There was a clear lack of frontline batters in RCB's playing XI, and the KKR spinners got rid of the batters who could be threats - Viral Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glen Maxwell.
Here are three reasons why KKR must prepare spin-friendly wickets at home this season:
#1 Quality spin unit
KKR has two of the best spin bowlers in the competition - Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. Additionally, Suyash Sharma showed promise on his debut.
Since 2020, Narine has picked up 33 wickets at an economy rate of 6.53, while Chakravarty has picked up 46 wickets at an economy rate of 7.07. Getting wickets that aid spin would be an arduous task for the visiting batters.
They could follow a strategy similar to CSK's at Chepauk - play the right mix of high-intent and utility batters in their specific roles and front-load the bowling attack with spinners.
Narine is an all-time great bowler in the format - he is flexible enough to bowl in all three stages of the game. While Chakravarthy can bowl in both the Powerplay as well, he is predominantly a bowler used in the middle-overs phase of the game.
#2 Top order struggles against fast bowlers
KKR's top order looks to be among the weakest in the competition, particularly in the absence of their regular skipper Shreyas Iyer. However, they have signed Jason Roy to strengthen their top-order batting. The Indian batters' struggle against quality pacers is no secret to anyone.
If the pitches aid spin, it will bring the likes of Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer into the game as batters who could make valuable contributions in their specific roles. Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz plays spin well, while Jason Roy can also take on the spinners when he's at his best. Rinku Singh is more comfortable against pace but he certainly has the game to play well against spinners.
The batting unit of Gurbaz, Roy, Iyer, Rana and Rinku looks impressive on paper against spin-heavy bowling attacks. It will be interesting to see what approach KKR follow if they go ahead with the mentioned strategy.
#3 Will prepare them for specific away games
Away games have been a crucial aspect of the IPL over the years. Successful teams have at least had the bare minimum success away from home while dominating at home. By preparing spin-friendly wickets at home, KKR can be better prepared for crucial away games (or playoffs) in such conditions.
They have experience in winning games in spin-friendly conditions. Their performances in Sharjah in the second leg of IPL 2021 are a great example of the same.
