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IPL 2013: Kolkata Knight Riders have to capitalise on key moments to regain their winning touch

The tag of "defending champions" can be a burden and Kolkata Knight Riders are buckling under pressure at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013. With five defeats in seven games, the title holders are at the bottom half of the table and have a lot of questions in front of them, The questions: opening combination, Yusuf Pathan’s form, how to utilise the services of Brendon McCullum, when will the Indian contingent shoulder responsibilities in batting and bowling? It has been their failure to capitalise on key moments that has been their undoing this season.

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IPL 2013: Kolkata Knight Riders have to capitalise on key moments to regain their winning touch

Kolkata Knight Riders have secured only four points from their seven games in the competiton so far © IANS

By Nishad Pai Vaidya

The tag of “defending champions” can be a burden and Kolkata Knight Riders are buckling under pressure at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013. With five defeats in seven games, the title holders are at the bottom half of the table and have a lot of questions in front of them, The questions: opening combination, Yusuf Pathan’s form, how to utilise the services of Brendon McCullum, when will the Indian contingent shoulder responsibilities in batting and bowling? It has been their failure to capitalise on key moments that has been their undoing this season.

During the 2012 season, Kolkata were heavily dependent on Gautam Gambhir in the batting and Sunil Narine in the bowling. Their performances would setup games for them and the others would rise to the occasion to finish the job. Gambhir led the run-charts by miles and Narine chipped in with wickets as the other bowlers maintained the pressure. Both have performed this season, but the finishing touch has been missing.

The only positive (apart from Gambhir) for Kolkata in the batting this season has been Eoin Morgan’s form. The southpaw has been in good touch and has played attacking hands on more than one occasion.

Kolkata lacked that punch last season and he has brought in a refreshing change. Along with Gambhir, he is the only Kolkata batsman to average over 30. The rest of the batsmen are languishing under 22.

Pathan’s promotion to the opening slot is an encouraging move and Kolkata management has to back him in the long run. Manvinder Bisla’s failures opened the window of opportunity for Pathan. He has been decent in his two outings and should be persisted with. Players like Pathan need to be given more time in the middle as they can get their eye in and then tear the bowling apart. Rajasthan Royals got the best out of him during their triumphant run in 2008 by allowing him to face as many deliveries as possible.

Jacques Kallis is a very important player to this setup as he can hold the batting together and bowl a few overs. However, he needs to get on with things quicker as his strike-rate is under 110. Even though Morgan is in great form and will attack later on, Kallis can ill-afford a slow approach as that only puts pressure on the rest. Brendon McCullum doesn’t find a place in this line-up and in a way it reflects the depth Kolkata have in their foreign recruits. At some stage, they might consider him to strengthen the batting.

On two occasions, Kolkata have faltered during a run-chase. They failed to chase a modest total against Rajasthan Royal. Against the Kings XI Punjab, they collapsed after Gambhir and Morgan had them in control. That is not something one expects from the champions.

Sachithra Senanayake has added to the mystery in an attack that already boasts of the deceptive Narine. They have bowled well in tandem, although Narine has stolen the show. Senanayake may not be able to hold on to his place for long as Kolkata need to diversify their options. Their attack is one-dimensional with Rajat Bhatia and Lakshmipathy Balaji bowling their military medium pace. The strategy might be effective on the slow track at the Eden Gardens, but the opposition also gets a chance to adjust better.
Brett Lee hasn’t played after the first two games and his pace might add more dynamism to the attack. With a tearaway in Lee and other military medium options, Gambhir can shuffle them around so that the batsmen do not get used to one kind. To back that up, they have a wily Narine waiting to unleash his bag of tricks.

Chennai Super Kings’ record can inspire Kolkata to bounce back. In previous editions, Chennai have often found themselves in precarious positions, only to bounce back and go all the way. Kolkata have time on their hands, but the quicker they recover the better.

(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and an analyst, anchor and voice-over artist for the site’s YouTube Channel. He shot to fame by spotting a wrong replay during IPL4 which resulted in Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal. His insights on the game have come in for high praise from cerebral former cricketers. He has also participated on live TV talk-shows on cricket. Nishad can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nishad_44)

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