IPL 2023: Knights eye home high!

KKR players celebrate after dismissing RCB skipper Virat Kohli at Bangalore recently. Pic/PTI

After four consecutive defeats that had laid them low, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday found the big rejuvenating win they so desperately needed. Consolidation of the gains of Bangalore faces its first challenge on Saturday when the Gujarat Titans come to the Eden Gardens for a joust with the Knights. The defending champions, flaunting fearsome firepower, have been among the table-toppers all through the first half of IPL-16 in contrast to the struggling KKR. Hardik Pandya and his men will also be keen to set the record straight following Rinku Singh's last over heroics that sent them to a dramatic defeat in Ahmedabad.
A great deal has happened in the 20 days since, with KKR slipping dangerously down the league ladder and the well-balanced Titans looking the team to beat.

Gill in great touch

Shubman Gill has been in great touch, and with David Miller joining the party, the batting has an ominous aura to it. Pandya hasn't quite hit his straps though he scored a 66 off 50 against Lucknow Super Giants, but the likes of Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, Abhinav Manohar and Rahul Tewatia have kept the fire burning. A 200-plus total that overwhelmed Mumbai Indians on Monday will have them in the right frame of mind. The attack too is potent. Mohammed Shami can do serious damage while Rashid Khan is a threat on any wicket. He seems to have found the perfect foil in young left-arm spinner and fellow-Afghan Noor Ahmad.

Even as the Knights struggled, Jason Roy's arrival as a replacement, has been a godsend for them. He comes riding back-to-back fifties, and is looking good for more. Opening the innings, the 32-year-old England international seems to have taken care of KKR's poor starts with his blistering batting that, more importantly, has a reassuring dollop of surefootedness. While his is about orthodox shots played with ferocity, Roy's ability to reverse-sweep with a purpose and panache, makes him a difficult one to contain. With the likes of Venkatesh Iyer and skipper Nitish Rana coming into their own, KKR's top-order wears a stable look but Andre Russell continues to deliver false dawns.

Spin it to win it

Spin will continue to be KKR's main weapon. Sunil Narine has been treated with disrespect of late, but Varun Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma stepped up nicely on Wednesday.

In their only victories prior to the string of debilitating defeats, the Knights had got out of jail riding amazing individual knocks. It's just as well that the taming of RCB in their den had the whiff of a more rounded team effort.

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