That Kolkata Knight Riders were not bundled out for 49 runs (the lowest total in the history of IPL), a record they achieved incidentally against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2017 was the only consolation from the ignominious defeat on Wednesday night at Abu Dhabi.
In a space of 21 balls in the powerplay, KKR lost its four wickets for a mere 14 runs on the board and writing was on the wall from the start. KKR lost two more wickets when they reached 40 runs and even if they managed to play 20 overs, a target of 85 was never going to create any panic in Virat Kohli’s side.
Siraj’s swing swung it in seconds
Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bat first and immediately the batting horror show for KKR was on display. None would have imagined that Mohammed Siraj can be so deadly with the new ball. Bowling 2 maidens in his quota of 4 overs and grabbing 3 wickets by conceding just 8 runs is what the stuff of dream spells are made of in the largely batting dominated feats of the IPL.
RCB bowlers managed to bowl two more maidens and 72 dots by KKR gave the impression that a test match batting was on show in the first session of the match!
“Cherished the delivery to (Nitish) Rana, came out exactly as I had thought,” said Siraj in Hindi after winning the Man of the Match award.
Of late, Siraj is being seen as a top contender to make it to the Indian team for the upcoming tour of Australia. Impressing selectors along with the most powerful decision maker from the closest quarter must have bolstered the young pacer’s chances.
“ We had the option of the plan to start with Washi (Washington Sundar) and bring (Chris) Morris in the second over, then we thought let's give Siraj the new ball with Morris. Let him set the tone and then let Siraj try and swing the ball. I obviously have thought about the things we can do on the field,” said Kohli after the match.
A chase that never was
From RCB’s batting line-up no one could even reach closer to Eoin Morgan’s highest score (30) in the match but it hardly mattered on a night when their bowlers had already decided the fate of the match. RCB chased the target in 14th over itself by losing just two wickets (Devdutt Padikkal 25 runs and Aaron Finch 16 runs) but after that Gurkeerat Singh (21*) and captain Kohli (18*)’s unbeaten partnership completed the formalities of the win.
“Being 4/5 down early on isn't the position we wanted to be in. RCB bowled well and probably looking at the conditions, we should have bowled first. We will learn our lessons and move on in the next game,” said Morgan after the match.
(Vimal Kumar is a senior sports journalist who has covered multiple cricket world cups and Rio Olympics in the last two decades. Vimal is also the author of Sachin: Cricketer Of The Century and The Cricket Fanatic’s Essential Guide.)
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