Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) find themselves in a tricky situation heading into their next fixture in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) after suffering three defeats in a row; slipping to the seventh spot in the points table.
The downfall after the journey under new leader Shreyas Iyer got off to a promising start with three wins in their first four games, including a six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who had outplayed them in last year’s final.
And with the league phase having reached the halfway stage, the time is now for the Knight Riders to get their act together if they are to keep their hopes of reaching the playoffs alive for a second consecutive season.
As far as their recent performances go, it is the bowling department that comes under scrutiny, with special emphasis on Pat Cummins. As brilliant as he was with the bat against Mumbai Indians (MI), forcing the world to sit up and take notice of his T20 finishing skills with a 15-ball 56 not out, Cummins has proven far too expensive with the ball in the recent games.
He ended up leaking 50-plus runs in two of the last three games, with Delhi Capitals (DC) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) posting totals of 215 and 217 in those two games.
KKR pacer Pat Cummins has conceded more than 50 runs in two of his last three outings in the IPL. Sportzpics
While he got off to a promising start against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) with the dismissal of opener Abhishek Sharma in his first over of the evening, he ended up getting smashed to all parts of the Brabourne Stadium as he conceded 40 in 3.5 overs at a rate of more than 10-per-over.
It’s not as if Cummins, among the leading bowlers of the current generation especially in the Test format, hasn’t tasted success in the IPL in the past. While he didn’t make much of an impact in his initial run with KKR in 2014 and 2015, he was Delhi Capitals’ leading wicket-taker (15; average: 24.86; economy: 8.07) in 2017, his only season with the franchise.
He was fairly decent in the 2020 season (12 wickets; average: 34.08; economy: 7.86) after re-signing with KKR for a whopping Rs 15.5 crore, finishing as their second-highest wicket-taker that season with nine wickets at an average of 26.33 in the first half of the 2021 edition before opting to skip the UAE leg.
Cummins, however, has been far too wayward this season. Even in the Mumbai Indians game, he conceded 49 runs in his four overs while accounting for the dismissals of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, though he would more than make up for the expensive bowling display with the freak, match-winning knock.
The Australian, though, has followed that unbeaten 56 up with scores of 4,3 and 0 since then, and thus has made it very difficult for the team management to retain him in the XI going forward, regardless of his status as a superstar of the modern-day game.
It would therefore, hardly come as a surprise if captain Iyer and coach Brendon McCullum opt to bring the tried-and-tested Tim Southee back into the line-up for the crucial game against the new franchise Gujarat Titans, who are currently at the top of the points table with five wins in six outings so far. KKR cannot afford any weak links against a side that has been the most clinical unit of the 10 teams in action so far and will have to make a tough call or two in the process.
Southee, after all, has looked far more threatening of an option. Both in the powerplay as well as in the slog overs, Southee has made a telling contribution in the two games that he has played so far this season. His 3/20 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore was among the reasons the Knight Riders were able to take the game into the final over in their defence of a modest score of 128.
He was a tad expensive against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), leaking 36 runs for his dismissals of Shikhar Dhawan and M Shahrukh Khan but surely deserves a shot at redemption in their upcoming fixture on Saturday.
Especially since none of the bowlers, barring veteran West Indian spinner Sunil Narine, has looked convincing in the last three games. After early success, Umesh Yadav’s effectiveness appears to have gradually tapered off since his match-winning haul of 4/23 against Punjab.
Tim Southee has collected five wickets in two appearances so far in the ongoing IPL, including a haul of 3/20 against RCB. Sportzpics
Though Southee, who was recently awarded the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for the New Zealand Player of the Year in 2021, remains an integral part of the Black Caps Test attack, his performances in the T20 World Cup last year showed that he could be a reliable option in the shortest format too.
Southee collected eight wickets in seven outings, but more importantly, was economical throughout the tournament barring the final against Australia — the only time his economy shot past seven — and had bowled the most dot balls among the New Zealand bowlers in five of their seven outings in the event.
The holding role that might bring to the game should he get picked could allow the Yadavs and Narines to attack from the other end and could then get the breakthroughs and restrict the opposition. If things go right, it could revive KKR’s bowling performance, which would essentially be their first step towards reviving their fortunes this season.
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