Kolkata Knight Riders speedster Harry Gurney is optimistic of the fact that his franchise making a comeback against the struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore on 19th May at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After getting off to a great start in the tournament, Kolkata Knight Riders have slightly fallen off the radar after losing 3 matches on a trot. They are currently at the bottom half of the table, placed fifth.
They have suffered back to back defeats at the hands of Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings which have set them back. They will be back in a day’s time against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and will look to get their campaign back on track. Bangalore has lost 7 games out of 8 and is just a defeat away from getting knocked out of the tournament.
“Still pretty optimistic,” said Harry Gurney on Wednesday (April 17). “It’s obviously not a great run to be on but fortunately we started the competition really well. We’re going into the second half with our own destiny in our own hands. I think this break we had here has come at a good time for us. It’s given us the chance to freshen up. We’ve had a couple of days off and now we’re training hard in preparation for the next game.
“I think in any T20 competition you play, the important part is the second half of the group stage where you want to take the momentum from there into the knockout stage. It’s amazing how often you see teams that run away in the group stages don’t end up going on to win a trophy. We’re not too down in the dumps about things. We know we’re a good team and we are excited about the next game.”
Kolkata Knight Riders have some exceptional players in their ranks. However, they haven’t managed to gel as an all-round unit which has resulted in them losing 4 out of the 8 matches they have played so far. The X factor for KKR has undoubtedly been Andre Russell. His power hitting abilities have taken the tournament by storm and his consistency has also made everyone take notice. However, the over dependency on Russell has come back to haunt them in the last couple of games.
Harry Gurney who made an impressive debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders a couple of weeks ago feel Royal Challengers Bangalore is not only about Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. RCB is going through a horrendous phase but they have some special talents in their franchise and KKR is well aware of that. Harry Gurney said that in T20 cricket every team is firepower and they won’t underestimate any of the RCB batters.
“In the IPL, whoever you play against are world-class players. Kohli and de Villiers are two of the best in the world, but at the same time, we shouldn’t underestimate the rest of the batting. Not to rest on your laurels if you do get those two out because their line-up is full of good players. We won’t focus on them necessarily.
“We’ll approach it in the same way as we would for any opposition really. We’ve got access to world-class analysis at KKR, we’ll come up with our plans no doubt and hopefully restrict them as much as possible. With bat and ball, you’re always striving for your perfect game. We got close to that against Rajasthan, so we know we are capable of it as a group.
For the last six games if we can turn up and pull it all together with bat and ball spinners, seamers, batters and fielders, then we’re going to be a tough team to beat. Whether they qualify or not, we’re not overly interested in that. We are more focussed on KKR.
“That’s most important: focus on what we do well and make sure we do that consistently. We feel there are a few areas in which we underperformed. It’s something that we’re looking to address.”