Kolkata Knight Riders started with a bang and fans even started to think that this team can lift the title this season. But, then came the fall and they haven't been able to come out of it and are staring down the barrel in this year's Indian Premier League.
After winning three out of their first four games with the only loss coming in a Super Over after a sensational come back against Delhi Capitals, KKR have only managed to win twice in their next eight matches, breaking their six-match losing streak against Mumbai Indians on Sunday night. Although the win keeps KKR's hopes of play-offs alive, they have a very slender chance of making it to the top-four.
And such is the condition now, their star man Andre Russell, who was once again their top performer against Mumbai, came out before the game and made a strong statement regarding the complete haplessness of the team.
So, what went wrong for Dinesh Karthik and his men?
Well! To begin with, it has been their spin department. Considered to be their strongest point, the KKR spin trio of Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla have failed to deliver this season. Among them, they have taken just 24 wickets so far in 12 games the franchise has played and that has cost them dearly.
Toothless for most parts and seen out in others, the Kolkata tweakers have found it hard to run through the opposition top-order -- something they have done consistently for the past few years. The situation got so bad that India's star spinner and the ace in the pack for KKR -- Kuldeep -- had to be dropped from the team for his form. However, the pitch also plays a part in it as the top used at Eden Gardens have provided little or no help to the tweakers and that has cost KKR dearly.
But, it's not just the spinners, KKR's pace department has also been lacklustre. Young Prasidh Krishna, New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson and England's Harry Gurney have shared the responsibilities mostly and the trio has blown hot and cold in the season, doing little to help out their spinners. Add the fact that Andre Russell has bowled very little, Karthik has had a torrid time so far to manage his resources and have paid the price for it.
While the bowling has been the Achilles heel for KKR, their batting hasn't been great either. Most of the wins have come on the back of Andre Russell's bit-hitting towards the fag end of the innings, thus, bailing them out of genuine losses. Dre Russ has been in the form of his life and has smacked 486 runs from 12 matches.
The big West Indian has clobbered 50 sixes in this year's IPL -- the most so far. But, he showed he is human and the dip in form over the last few matches, has taken the team down as well. After Russell, KKR's highest-scorer are Chris Lynn (318) and Nitish Rana (318). And if you add Kolkata's unwillingness to send Russell up the order despite him being their best batter this season, the recipe for destruction has been definitely self-made.
Lastly but definitely not the least, the two-time champions have been extremely sloppy in the field. Dropping catches, letting runs go and moving slowly. Their groundwork has let them down on numerous occasions and in the modern day, if you don't field well, matches are really hard to win.
Kolkata so far has had a season to forget and as the tournament nears its end, the management will have a decision to make following such a horrendous turnaround in fortune. While some could say that there are still two games to go, their sloppy show in the season surely needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
Kolkata still have two matches to go and they will hope for favourable results apart from being at the mercy of the other teams. They might or might not make it to the play-offs, but the team think-tank definitely has a lot to ponder.
