“As soon as Aaron Finch comes in, the ball also comes in” - Aakash Chopra on KKR’s batting woes in IPL 2022

Aakash Chopra has termed the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) batting in IPL 2022 a complete mess. The former Indian opener pointed to a pattern of dismissals, which basically means that opponents are well aware of the weaknesses of Kolkata's batters.

Kolkata have had a torrid time in IPL 2022 of late. They have lost six of their last seven matches and now find themselves in ninth position in the IPL points table. In their previous game, they went down to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 75 runs. Chasing 177, they succumbed to 101 all out.

The Knight Riders will now take on the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Monday. Previewing the clash, Chopra said that things are going from bad to worse for Kolkata. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he elaborated on the team’s batting woes and stated:

“As soon as Aaron Finch comes in, the ball also comes in. Shreyas Iyer keeps falling to the bouncer. Even the others are getting dismissed off the short balls. Baba Indrajith has been dismissed twice against the bouncer. Things are not looking good.”

Kolkata continued with Baba Indrajith and Aaron Finch as openers in the match against LSG. Both fell cheaply as KKR collapsed to 25 for four and could never recover from the horror start..

The detailed IPL 2022 schedule are available here.

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“In Test match parlance, it is an innings loss” - Aakash Chopra on margin of KKR’s defeat against LSG

Reflecting further on Kolkata’s insipid performance against Lucknow, Chopra compared the margin of defeat (75 runs) to an innings loss in a Test match. The 44-year-old elaborated:

"KKR were absolutely pounded in their last game. They went down to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 75 runs. In Test match parlance, it is an innings loss.”

The cricketer-turned-analyst added that despite trying out various combinations, Kolkata have failed to zero in on a settled playing XI. He concluded:

“They are in such a bad situation. KKR are not ready at all. They don’t know who will open the innings. They have made so many changes that even a 25-member squad is looking small. Everyone has got a chance but no one has grabbed them.”

Andre Russell top-scored for Kolkata against LSG, hammering 45 off 19 balls. Sunil Narine chipped in with 22 off 12. Without contributions from the West Indian duo, Shreyas Iyer’s IPL team would have failed to even reach the 100-run mark.