Kolkata Knight Riders : Talking Points and Season Review

In the only eliminator match of the IPL season, Kolkata Knight Riders lost out to Mumbai Indians in a close encounter. It was a match with a lot of twists and turns and ultimately you will have to say that the better team won. For KKR fans it was disappointing to see their team going out. It was a season where KKR looked as potential IPL winners for the first time in four IPL seasons. The team looked solid on all fronts and it was a team effort from all the players that had carried the team for the first time into the semifinals(Called eliminator this season).

With this defeat KKR not only missed out a chance to be in Chennai and play in the final but also to play in the coveted Champions League. However all is not lost for the KKR team. As per BCCI sources, a playoff could be arranged for the fourth team in IPL which would have teams from other countries so that the best teams could be playing in the Champions League.

Looking back here are the major talking points involving KKR’s season :

• TEAM SELECTION : The biggest talking point of KKR’s team selection in IPL 4 majorly involved of two points. One, the Kolkata boy and probably India’s greatest captain Ganguly was neither retained by KKR nor purchased at the auction. Two, KKR paid half of their purse only for two players; Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan. However at the end of the auction, KKR managed to pull off a good enough team with a decent mix of Indian and International players. For the first time KKR looked like a team which could go all the way.

• BRIGHT START : KKR lost a very close game against CSK in Chennai , which they should have ideally won had Manoj Tiwari kept his cool. However they won their next three matches in a row and went on to top the table. The team which looked solid on paper was doing well on the field as well.Kallis, Gambhir and Manoj Tiwari looked in good touch and it was all bright and sunny for the team from Kolkata.

• TWIN LOSSES : KKR lost both the legs against RCB and Kochi. In most of these matches KKR were in a winning position until they squandered their position. It was evident from all these matches that KKR depend a lot on Kallis and Gambhir to win them matches when they are batting. The likes of Lee and Balaji were unable to get those wickets and KKR counted a lot on their spinners for getting crucial breakthroughs.

• POOR TEAM SELECTION AND STRATEGY : KKR failed miserably in a couple of matches because of poor team selection and strategy. Firstly, in some matches KKR went up with only six specialist batsmen when they had a lot of all-rounders in the squad. Secondly, the liked of Shakib and Doeschate were not given enough opportunities to prove themselves. Thirdly, Kallis was not used much as a bowler and hence his experience was not made into good use. Finally, including Boucher into the squad was a mistake. For a player who was in the commentary team a couple of days ago it was very difficult to come in so quickly and play well. It also cost KKR the crucial away match against Kochi.

• LACK OF INNOVATION BY GAMBHIR : For Gambhir the player , the tournament was a reasonable success, with him playing a couple of good match winning knocks. As a captain he fared well too but he lacked innovative ideas when it was required and made a couple of bad decisions which cost the team dearly. Most notably, asking Balaji to bowl the last over against Mumbai in the last league match proved fatal as KKR lost the opportunity to go into the top two. Also in a couple of more occasions Gambhir lacked the out-of-the-box thinking that Dhoni has shown in the tournament.

REVIEW :

Even before KKR stepped on to the field, they were embroiled in a lot of controversy regarding the exclusion of Ganguly. The fans boycotted the matches in Eden Gardens for the starting matches and the team was already in pressure. However KKR avoided all such distractions and played as a unit to reach the top four for the first time. What was even better was the fact that some of the lesser known players such as Manoj Tiwari and Iqbal Abdulla played a vital role in the team’s quest for glory. For a team which had all the new players baring a couple it was a great achievement. Moreover, the team played a lot better and fought till the last moment in all the matches which was rarely seen in the last few seasons. They might have lost out this year but the future is bright for the KKR team. If they sort out a few gray areas they can go all the way in the future.