Kolkata Knight Riders seem to embody their owner Shah Rukh Khan, with their performances this season, lurching from disappointment to exhilaration, all in the space of a few overs. For their supporters, it’s painfully excruciating. For the neutrals though, KKR are probably the most exciting team of the tournament.
Silly, not just unpredictable
In a way, this KKR team is an embodiment of the Pakistan team of the international stage. They can go from playing like a boss to losing their mojo in a matter of seconds. KKR have played three games now and one thing seems quite clear: they are probably the most unpredictable team of the tournament.
Sample this match for example: KKR had Punjab reeling at 27/3 in the fifth over with Sehwag, Saha and Vijay back in the dug-out. Vijay had been caught smartly by Russel at midwicket. Chawla had accounted for Sehwag with a fine diving catch. For a KKR team which had just come off two matches with innumerable dropped catches, things seemed to have improved dramatically. Was there finally to be a comprehensive performance from Gambhir and Co?
Not really. Come on, would it really be Kolkata without a few elements of stupidity? After the third wicket, KKR seemed too surprised for their own good. This was going too well. Heaven forbid, they were taking their catches. To balance things out, they duly ensured that Yusuf Pathan dropped Maxwell off a sitter.
Maxwell’s not an ordinary batsman. In the last match, KKR had dropped Gayle twice and had reaped their results. This time, they dropped Maxwell. Maxwell, who can hit a 100 off 50 balls as ridiculously easily as Laxman can caress a ball through the mid-wicket boundary. Were KKR going to give it away again?
‘The Big Show’ looked the part tonight as well. Three balls after the drop, Maxwell hit a perfect inside-out boundary off Narine, Kolkata’s best bowler. He followed it up with a wristy, spectacular six off Andre Russell. He looked right in the mood to unleash mayhem.
But then, Kolkata are Pakistan, not Canada. Maxwell skied one off Umesh Yadav towards the offside sweeper; Andre Russell, who couldn’t put a foot wrong throughout the match, dived forward and pulled off one of the best catches of IPL 2015. Yet again, Kolkata had snatched a chance from thin air. Yet again, just when things seemed lost after a good start, Kolkata had pulled one back. They just never like it being too easy, too they?
KKR’s Caribbean masala
There is no better sight than West Indian cricketers in full flow. There is something which distinguishes them from the rest – perhaps it is their inherent nonchalant flamboyance, perhaps it is the way they play the game, a style full of boundless joy.
International cricket is poorer for having lost the traditional Caribbean flamboyance. But not the Indian Premier League. Edition after edition, the IPL has become richer thanks to its West Indian stars’ exploits. Gayle, Pollard, Bravo and Smith have become household names. Today, it was the turn of another West Indian cricketer to provide a throwback to those days of West Indian dominance.
As Andre Russell strode up to the crease to join Yusuf Pathan, Kings XI supporters had plenty of reasons to hope. Unsurprisingly, KKR had yet again conspired to mess up an easy chase despite a good start. Chasing 155, they found themselves staring down the barrel at 60/5, with the asking rate touching 8.
How did Russell approach such a tricky situation? With simplicity personified. By unleashing a carnage of such fierceness that Kings XI were blinded. After taking two overs to settle down, he tore into Axar Patel, bludgeoning him for 19 in an over. That proved to be the telling blow: Russell effortlessly moved up a gear, sparing no one, his 66 off 36 balls single-handedly winning it for Kolkata. His shots had a touch of typical Caribbean arrogance; powerful, mighty, with a hint of the West Indians greats of old. Rajdeep Sardesai was bang on money when he tweeted: Andre Russell bats like the West Indians of an earlier era: they don't just hit the ball, they murder it. #KXIPVsKKR
It wasn’t just Russell though. KKR were helped by the return of another old favourite: Sunil Narine. The cynosure of all eyes after being called for a suspect action last year, Narine hadn’t performed up to his usual standards in KKR’s firsts two games. But he was right on the money in this match, bowling at his miserly best and giving away only 17 in his 4 overs, with a wicket thrown in.
Narine and Russell are poles apart as cricketers. Narine is crafty and canny with a fixed deadpan expression, never giving anything away. Russell is the quintessential West Indian, strong, hefty, powerful, capable of the muscling his way through an entire side. But when they click together, they make such a difference to this unpredictable KKR side.
Silly, not just unpredictable
In a way, this KKR team is an embodiment of the Pakistan team of the international stage. They can go from playing like a boss to losing their mojo in a matter of seconds. KKR have played three games now and one thing seems quite clear: they are probably the most unpredictable team of the tournament.
Sample this match for example: KKR had Punjab reeling at 27/3 in the fifth over with Sehwag, Saha and Vijay back in the dug-out. Vijay had been caught smartly by Russel at midwicket. Chawla had accounted for Sehwag with a fine diving catch. For a KKR team which had just come off two matches with innumerable dropped catches, things seemed to have improved dramatically. Was there finally to be a comprehensive performance from Gambhir and Co?
Not really. Come on, would it really be Kolkata without a few elements of stupidity? After the third wicket, KKR seemed too surprised for their own good. This was going too well. Heaven forbid, they were taking their catches. To balance things out, they duly ensured that Yusuf Pathan dropped Maxwell off a sitter.
Maxwell’s not an ordinary batsman. In the last match, KKR had dropped Gayle twice and had reaped their results. This time, they dropped Maxwell. Maxwell, who can hit a 100 off 50 balls as ridiculously easily as Laxman can caress a ball through the mid-wicket boundary. Were KKR going to give it away again?
‘The Big Show’ looked the part tonight as well. Three balls after the drop, Maxwell hit a perfect inside-out boundary off Narine, Kolkata’s best bowler. He followed it up with a wristy, spectacular six off Andre Russell. He looked right in the mood to unleash mayhem.
But then, Kolkata are Pakistan, not Canada. Maxwell skied one off Umesh Yadav towards the offside sweeper; Andre Russell, who couldn’t put a foot wrong throughout the match, dived forward and pulled off one of the best catches of IPL 2015. Yet again, Kolkata had snatched a chance from thin air. Yet again, just when things seemed lost after a good start, Kolkata had pulled one back. They just never like it being too easy, too they?
KKR’s Caribbean masala
There is no better sight than West Indian cricketers in full flow. There is something which distinguishes them from the rest – perhaps it is their inherent nonchalant flamboyance, perhaps it is the way they play the game, a style full of boundless joy.
International cricket is poorer for having lost the traditional Caribbean flamboyance. But not the Indian Premier League. Edition after edition, the IPL has become richer thanks to its West Indian stars’ exploits. Gayle, Pollard, Bravo and Smith have become household names. Today, it was the turn of another West Indian cricketer to provide a throwback to those days of West Indian dominance.
As Andre Russell strode up to the crease to join Yusuf Pathan, Kings XI supporters had plenty of reasons to hope. Unsurprisingly, KKR had yet again conspired to mess up an easy chase despite a good start. Chasing 155, they found themselves staring down the barrel at 60/5, with the asking rate touching 8.
How did Russell approach such a tricky situation? With simplicity personified. By unleashing a carnage of such fierceness that Kings XI were blinded. After taking two overs to settle down, he tore into Axar Patel, bludgeoning him for 19 in an over. That proved to be the telling blow: Russell effortlessly moved up a gear, sparing no one, his 66 off 36 balls single-handedly winning it for Kolkata. His shots had a touch of typical Caribbean arrogance; powerful, mighty, with a hint of the West Indians greats of old. Rajdeep Sardesai was bang on money when he tweeted: Andre Russell bats like the West Indians of an earlier era: they don't just hit the ball, they murder it. #KXIPVsKKR
It wasn’t just Russell though. KKR were helped by the return of another old favourite: Sunil Narine. The cynosure of all eyes after being called for a suspect action last year, Narine hadn’t performed up to his usual standards in KKR’s firsts two games. But he was right on the money in this match, bowling at his miserly best and giving away only 17 in his 4 overs, with a wicket thrown in.
Narine and Russell are poles apart as cricketers. Narine is crafty and canny with a fixed deadpan expression, never giving anything away. Russell is the quintessential West Indian, strong, hefty, powerful, capable of the muscling his way through an entire side. But when they click together, they make such a difference to this unpredictable KKR side.
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