Ten days into IPL 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders were being hailed as one of the favourites for a playoffs berth. In their first four matches, they had beaten defending champions Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings, and Mumbai Indians – all by comfortable margins. In the other, they had fought Royal Challengers Bangalore tooth-and-nail after being bowled out for 128.
After finishing runners-up last season, Kolkata were looking like a well-oiled machine. There was the odd flaw, but the fans were prepared to brush them under the carpet: why bother if the side is winning?
Then began the fall. They conceded 215/5 against Delhi Capitals and lost by 44 runs. Sunrisers Hyderabad thrashed them by seven wickets. Perhaps the defeat against Rajasthan Royals (210 in pursuit of 218) did not hurt as much, but subsequent defeats against Gujarat Titans and – for the second time – Delhi took their streak of defeats to five matches.
Kolkata still have five matches left in the league stage. Chances of playoffs berth seem bleak, for there are five teams on 10 or more points. On the other hand, Chennai, and even the winless Mumbai, may catch up if Kolkata’s winless streak continues.
There have been multiple reasons for Kolkata’s sub-par performance this season. They have a reasonable squad, as they did in 2021, but some decisions have held them back from performing at their best.
Backfiring auctions
Kolkata had retained Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, and Varun Chakravarthy at the mega-auctions. They made some interesting acquisitions, the most curious being Ajinkya Rahane. While Narine and Russell have been superb – as they have been, for years – the Indian pair has not quite left an impact.
On the other hand, some cricketers released by Kolkata this season have done remarkably well for other franchises. Of Kolkata batters, only Shreyas Iyer (290) has scored more runs than Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi this season, and no Kolkata bowler has more wickets than Kuldeep Yadav, though Umesh Yadav (14) and Russell (10) sit well with Prasidh Krishna and Lockie Ferguson.
In fact, it will not be a surprise if both Kuldeep and Karthik earn recalls to the national side this season based on their 2022 performance alone.
Of course, luck often plays a part in this. After all, every franchise had to let go over 20 cricketers ahead of the mega-auctions. Even after keeping that in mind, five released cricketers thriving for other franchises in the same season raises questions on the auction strategies.
Too many changes
Kolkata have fielded 19 players this season, the most for any franchise, despite six men – Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Umesh Yadav – playing all nine matches, while Venkatesh Iyer played the first eight. But even that does not tell the full story.
Kolkata won their first four matches. They used 12 players in the first three. In the fourth, they brought in two new players, but that included Pat Cummins, who had joined them late. For the first five matches, they were stuck on 14.
Then began their losing streak, and they made three, one, three, and three changes respectively in the next four matches. These may not seem a very high count, but one must remember that Kolkata kept seven men constant in the XI. While every IPL cricketer is prepared to take an axing in their stride, being unsure of a place even at the first failure rips them of the cushion, the confidence they need to give their best.
Opening conundrum failing
Nine matches into the season, Kolkata are yet to figure out an opening pair. They stuck to Rahane – never known for aggressive batting – for the initial stages of the tournament. While some Twenty20 sides resort to an “anchor” at the top, Venkatesh is not a big hitter either. The use of two men with strike rates of 120 was bound to fail: it did.
Kolkata switched to Aaron Finch once he was available. They retained Venkatesh despite his failures, probably because of his ability to bowl. But while Venkatesh has failed, his partners have not done remarkably well either. Finch’s IPL woes have continued, while experimenting with Narine and Sam Billings at the top have not worked out.
Perhaps Finch and Narine is the way to go forward.
As things stand, Kolkata are the only team whose opening pairs have scored at less than a run-a-ball this season. Their average, 14.22, is better than only Chennai’s. As a result, Kolkata have often been under pressure by the time the middle overs begin.
Middle-over collapses
The pressure created by an underperforming opening pair has forced Kolkata batters to take unnecessary risks in the middle overs. As a result, they have lost more wickets in this phase than any other side this season.
The two teams that come close to Kolkata this season – Delhi and Punjab – have been characterised by their “hit throughout the 20 overs” approach. They also have had excellent opening partnerships, something Kolkata did not. An unsettled opening pair, followed by collapses in the middle overs, has resulted in Kolkata putting up below-par scores, match after match.
Use of Russell
Russell’s 22 sixes are the second-most this season, after Jos Buttler’s 32. Russell has faced only 129 balls, which means he has hit slightly more than a six every over he has faced (he has also hit 12 fours).
It makes sense to use Russell down the order as his batting style involves great risk. He is best suited to batting in a position where taking risks is the only way to go ahead. However, that also prevents him from facing more balls than he could have, had he batted in the top four.
Using Russell down the order has worked for Kolkata in the past. However, after a string of five defeats, they probably cannot afford to follow the same formulae. Pushing him up the order may fail – but there is little to lose for Kolkata at this stage. It is a risk worth taking.
Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor at CricketNews and co-author of Sachin and Azhar at Cape Town.
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