IPL 2022: A KKR Masterclass On How To Lose It

At the end of the match on Monday, even the most ardent Rajasthan Royals (RR) fans would know that they were lucky to get away with a win. Conversely, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) supporters would have every right to be miffed. After a certain point in the match, there was no way KKR should have lost, but they contrived to find yet another defeat that, given their precarious position on the IPL 2022 points table, could be quite telling. KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer will have to crack some serious whip if the side has to even have an outside chance of qualifying for the knockouts. As of now, it is a distant dream.

Chasing a daunting 217, KKR were 107/1 after 8.1 overs. Then the pugnacious Aaron Finch left, and there the story changed.

In came Nitish Rana, whose batting philosophy is something of a mystery. It is a rare occasion that he doesn’t go for the unorthodox within the first five deliveries he has faced, rare that he plays along the ground and an even rarer case where he succeeds with this plan.

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So, he decided to attack Yuzvendra Chahal. One miscued reverse-hoick, followed by a good, orthodox, straight hit. Then he lofted him again and almost got caught. Not satisfied with this reprieve, Rana tried again, and this time succeeded in holing out.

Chahal is to be duly applauded for his five-wicket haul and hat-trick, but truth be told, the leg-spinner was unsteady, especially against Iyer, with a series of off-side wide-balls proof that he didn’t want to bowl anywhere near the KKR skipper’s stumps.

All Rana had to do was keep his head down. But so much for wishful thinking.

Andre Russell came and went, done in by the ball of the match, which would have bested many a better batter.

Then came Venkatesh Iyer. Off the last ball of the 15^th over, he got an earful from the captain for not coming back for a second run, which would leave the strike with the senior Iyer.

So junior, off the first ball of the 16^th, went sauntering down the pitch, missed the line completely and was stumped by a respectable distance.

From 107/1, KKR were now, 178/5 off 16.1 overs.

By the end of that over, the match was done.

Shreyas Iyer, watching dismally from the other end as his partners came and went, tried to push past this chaos and a forcing shot ultimately went wrong. But given the rapid losses at the other end, he was left with few options.

Chahal went to town, converting from hesitancy to ebullience. Five for 40 with a hat-trick and a pose for the cameras to boot!

Yuzvendra Chahal Sir Legendary Leg Spin grand master. Treat to watch Hat trick and Five Fer in IPL For the First time @yuzi_chahal Sir. Pose going to get more and more love. pic.twitter.com/CliMUdWLpI

Ayush Ranjan (@AyushRa15743279) April 18, 2022

As for KKR, Umesh Yadav too showed more defiance and a straighter bat than the middle-order, but like his captain, was left with few options.

An inglorious end, engineered by collective middle-order brain freeze. Not exactly what KKR needed at this juncture.

(This article was published on india.com)