The two-times IPL champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has failed to make it to the playoffs. Well, they have been making it to the playoffs since last three seasons. And this year, after giving the perfect start to their season, they gave it an anti-climactic end in the IPL 2019. Before, assistant coach Simon Katich revealed behind the scenes story.
After a disappointing show, they came back alive when they defeated Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in their second last match. It light-up their hope of making it to the playoffs, and they seemed pumped up to take Mumbai Indians (MI) down in their last league match. But unfortunately, MI pushed them out with a nine-wicket victory, to make road clear for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the playoffs.
Knight Riders walked into the season with sheer determination to win. They won four out of the five matches in the first half of the season. And when no one worked, there was Andre Russell to ship them out of the cyclone with his cameos. But that was the problem, and the team relied more on the Windies hulk.
The Caribbean all-rounder stood tall by his team through all the matches of the league. And did his bit, by bailing out his team most of the times. But their Russell magic couldn’t work in their most crucial match. He was out on the very first ball which he faced in Mumbai. Throughout the tournament, he added a total of 510 runs with a strike rate of 204.81. Had he been sent in early on, things could have been a bit different for the team.
For the First Time in the Last Three Years, KKR will not be in the Playoffs.
With a solid start, KKRs were once in the top four of the points table. But the back-to-back six defeats have worsened the case for Kolkata franchise. And the last defeat got them out of the league for the first time in the last four years.
“There was an opportunity to bat up the order for Andre Russell, but expecting him to deliver every time is unfair and he has been fantastic throughout the tournament for us,” Karthik said to Star Sports on Sunday (May 5). “This was not our best season. There are a lot of areas for us to improve on, and I’m sure we will come back stronger next year,” he added.
It was evident that the team was not in the best of their spirits and the random statements released by team members or team management at times has marred the cordial atmosphere.
At a point, things escalated to the extent that Russell himself ended up publicly criticising the decision making, that the environment around is not best.
Katich, an assistant coach of KKR, reiterated the dynamic changed within the team after their six-match losing streak. He told that there was tension among the players before going for the match.
“That was pretty evident from the last few games after we got on a bit of a roll with losses. We’ve got to address that as a group. What is so important in the IPL is dynamic in the group, and I guess the unity. That’s something that KKR is very very proud of. It’s a very successful franchise and it’s something that everyone involved has worked very very hard to contribute to over a long period of time. That’s something we have to certainly work to get better at it because there’s no doubt that throughout this campaign, the dynamic within our group has certainly changed.” He said after the MI game.
A loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals hurt the most:
KKR took off with one of the greatest starts. It was the 23rd match of the IPL against Chennai Super Kings. KKR lost to them by seven wickets, and a chain of losing spree started. But after their win against KXIP, players were hoping to win the last match. However, true to their record in Mumbai, they succumbed to their sixth straight loss at the Wankhede stadium.
“We had a very good start but it fell away badly through that middle phase of the tournament,” he said. “Today is obviously disappointing but it’s a tough task coming to Mumbai, we don’t obviously have a great record here. Yes, it would have been great to win today and get through but to finish where we did is probably what we deserved given how our season went,” added Katich.
However, it was their loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals, which Katich felt hurt the most.
He said, “If you look back on our season, the two missed opportunities. We were in the matches against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals. We hadn’t played well through the season but to lose those two games was always going to come back and hurt us in the end. When you look back, in the end, that’s what probably catches up with you, when you don’t win at home, where that wicket suits our style of play, particularly our batsmen, given how flat it’s been.”
KKR is placed fifth on the points table with 12 points. Thus, creating a pathway for SRH in the final four on the basis of net run-rate.