How to spend big money and still trail in IPL
May 15, 2014 4:26:37 GMT -8
sandidi and abhijacko like this
Post by karan on May 15, 2014 4:26:37 GMT -8
A good read.
How to spend big money and still trail in IPL
by Nishant JoshiPublished 14 May 2014
[.....]
Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR's season has been one of Jekyll and Hyde, having followed up a win-loss-win-loss start with four consecutive losses. Their performances seem to reflect the mood of their captain Gautam Gambhir on any given day, and it seemed as KKR had fallen into an irretrievable abyss, with Gauti leading his team off the precipice with scores of 0, 0, 0 and 1. Yet, to their immense credit, KKR have bounced back - and so has Gambhir, with three consecutive fifties.
Since they settled on Robin Uthappa and Gambhir as openers, KKR have been excellent - we'll put down that collapse of six wickets in nine balls against Rajasthan down to a bad day at the office - and their bowling has shown plenty of teeth. Revolving around Sunil Narine's trickery, KKR's bowling relies on choking the batting side into mismanaging their innings. With Narine typically bowling two or three overs at the death, set batsmen often seem content to play themselves in, and accelerate at the death. Yet, the fall of one wicket means that a new batsman is tasked with Narine, inevitably resulting in more helpless flapping than a fish out of water.
With their opening batsmen in great form, and the best death bowler in the business, you'd think that KKR would have a great chance of winning this IPL outright. However, their tactics this season have left a lot to be desired. It's my theory that to win this IPL, they must be brave, and drop Jacques Kallis.
A legend in Tests and ODIs, Kallis has long been tolerated and lauded in T20 cricket, under the semblance of providing 'stability'. This year, batsmen such as Glenn Maxwell have proven that 'percentage cricket' doesn't necessarily mean that one must play forward defensives and technically correct cover-drives. Kallis' highest strike-rate across all IPL editions was 116 in 2010, and he has scored 50+ on just three occasions in the past three years. Kallis' bowling has been notably more expensive this year, as he has conceded at a rate of 8.5 per over.
Crucially, as KKR's opening slots are now taken up, Kallis just doesn't fit into the middle order of this team. After a solid platform, history shows us that Kallis simply isn't capable of accelerating in the same way as other batsmen in his team. On the other hand, KKR are blessed to have two dynamic batsmen who would find themselves in the starting XI of most other sides.
After a two-year apprenticeship with Deccan Chargers that only resulted in one token appearance, it felt like young Australian batsman Chris Lynn had seized his chance at the first time of asking for KKR, as he won Man of the Match against RCB, top-scoring with 45 off 31, and following that up with a match-winning catch in the final over of the game.
However, Lynn scored 13 in the next game against Punjab, and has been unceremoniously - and inexplicably - dumped ever since. Lynn's ability to play match-winning knocks on slow and low pitches makes him an invaluable asset towards the back-end of a tournament, and he has the potential to become a middle-order lynchpin for Australia.
Shakib-al-Hasan is the player who could replace Kallis as a 'like-for-like' all-rounder. Shakib currently boasts KKR's best strike-rate (142) and economy rate (6.08), yet in another inexplicable decision, hasn't played in every match. With pitches likely to crumble towards the end of the season, Shakib could come into his own.
According to the ICC's rankings, Shakib is the second-ranked T20 all-rounder in international cricket. He is in excellent form, even by his standards. Yet, he can't find a place in a mid-table KKR side. Work that one out.
KKR have shown a great deal of faith in Morne Morkel, who has been inconsistent in this IPL, despite hopes that by now he might have reached a similar level in T20s to that of his compatriot Dale Steyn. If Shakib, Lynn and Suryakumar Yadav are given a chance to bat together, then KKR will possess an incredibly dynamic middle order. KKR certainly have the talent, and are slowly piecing the jigsaw together, but their outcome will depend solely on the shrewdness of their tacticians.
[.....]
www.starsports.com/cricket/columns/columnist=125/articleid=1329530/index.html#how-spend-big-money-and-still-trail-ipl
How to spend big money and still trail in IPL
by Nishant JoshiPublished 14 May 2014
[.....]
Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR's season has been one of Jekyll and Hyde, having followed up a win-loss-win-loss start with four consecutive losses. Their performances seem to reflect the mood of their captain Gautam Gambhir on any given day, and it seemed as KKR had fallen into an irretrievable abyss, with Gauti leading his team off the precipice with scores of 0, 0, 0 and 1. Yet, to their immense credit, KKR have bounced back - and so has Gambhir, with three consecutive fifties.
Since they settled on Robin Uthappa and Gambhir as openers, KKR have been excellent - we'll put down that collapse of six wickets in nine balls against Rajasthan down to a bad day at the office - and their bowling has shown plenty of teeth. Revolving around Sunil Narine's trickery, KKR's bowling relies on choking the batting side into mismanaging their innings. With Narine typically bowling two or three overs at the death, set batsmen often seem content to play themselves in, and accelerate at the death. Yet, the fall of one wicket means that a new batsman is tasked with Narine, inevitably resulting in more helpless flapping than a fish out of water.
With their opening batsmen in great form, and the best death bowler in the business, you'd think that KKR would have a great chance of winning this IPL outright. However, their tactics this season have left a lot to be desired. It's my theory that to win this IPL, they must be brave, and drop Jacques Kallis.
A legend in Tests and ODIs, Kallis has long been tolerated and lauded in T20 cricket, under the semblance of providing 'stability'. This year, batsmen such as Glenn Maxwell have proven that 'percentage cricket' doesn't necessarily mean that one must play forward defensives and technically correct cover-drives. Kallis' highest strike-rate across all IPL editions was 116 in 2010, and he has scored 50+ on just three occasions in the past three years. Kallis' bowling has been notably more expensive this year, as he has conceded at a rate of 8.5 per over.
Crucially, as KKR's opening slots are now taken up, Kallis just doesn't fit into the middle order of this team. After a solid platform, history shows us that Kallis simply isn't capable of accelerating in the same way as other batsmen in his team. On the other hand, KKR are blessed to have two dynamic batsmen who would find themselves in the starting XI of most other sides.
After a two-year apprenticeship with Deccan Chargers that only resulted in one token appearance, it felt like young Australian batsman Chris Lynn had seized his chance at the first time of asking for KKR, as he won Man of the Match against RCB, top-scoring with 45 off 31, and following that up with a match-winning catch in the final over of the game.
However, Lynn scored 13 in the next game against Punjab, and has been unceremoniously - and inexplicably - dumped ever since. Lynn's ability to play match-winning knocks on slow and low pitches makes him an invaluable asset towards the back-end of a tournament, and he has the potential to become a middle-order lynchpin for Australia.
Shakib-al-Hasan is the player who could replace Kallis as a 'like-for-like' all-rounder. Shakib currently boasts KKR's best strike-rate (142) and economy rate (6.08), yet in another inexplicable decision, hasn't played in every match. With pitches likely to crumble towards the end of the season, Shakib could come into his own.
According to the ICC's rankings, Shakib is the second-ranked T20 all-rounder in international cricket. He is in excellent form, even by his standards. Yet, he can't find a place in a mid-table KKR side. Work that one out.
KKR have shown a great deal of faith in Morne Morkel, who has been inconsistent in this IPL, despite hopes that by now he might have reached a similar level in T20s to that of his compatriot Dale Steyn. If Shakib, Lynn and Suryakumar Yadav are given a chance to bat together, then KKR will possess an incredibly dynamic middle order. KKR certainly have the talent, and are slowly piecing the jigsaw together, but their outcome will depend solely on the shrewdness of their tacticians.
[.....]
www.starsports.com/cricket/columns/columnist=125/articleid=1329530/index.html#how-spend-big-money-and-still-trail-ipl