News Analysis India

Tag: Kolkata Knight Riders

  • Nitish, Rahul half-centuries take Kolkata to 187 for 6 against Hyderabad

    By PTI
    CHENNAI:

    Opener Nitish Rana (80) and Rahul Tripathi (53) hit fluent half-centuries to propel Kolkata Knight Riders to a challenging 187 for six against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League match, here on Sunday.

    SRH’s Rashid Khan (2/24) was yet again at his best, asking tough questions to the batsmen but most of his bowling colleagues proved ineffective on a batting-friendly wicket.

    Dinesh Karthik (22 not out off 9 balls) provided a late flourish to KKR innings but they could gather only 42 runs in the last five overs.

    Left-handed opener Rana struck the ball hard and clean to provide his side a confident start after they were asked to take first strike.

    His strokes on the off-side — the drives and cuts – were of highest quality and a treat to the eye.

    Neither Bhuvneshwar Kumar nor T Natarajan could stop Rana from hitting boundaries even as Subhman Gill was quiet initially.

    Sandeep Sharma was hit for three boundaries in a row by him.

    Gill opened up his arms to hit a massive straight six off Natarajan to make it even better for KKR.

    However, the run-flow was affected when ever-reliable Rashid got the ball in his hands.

    He also provided the breakthrough when he deceived Gill with a wrong’un to find the stumps.

    Rana though kept going strong, completing his half-century with a six off Vijay Shankar after surviving an LBW appeal off Rashid.

    He got the decision overturned, taking the DRS call.

    Rana’s six-hitting continued after getting his fifty as he punished Natarajan and Sandeep again.

    His colleague at the other end Rahul Tripathi also stroked confidently and fluently.

    He smashed a massive six off Bhuvneshwar and then followed it up with a cheeky four in the third-man region.

    He completed his fifty with another boundary off Bhuvneshwar but was dismissed by Natarajan soon after when he top-edged a ball.

    Rashid too sent back dangerous Andre Russell (5) back.

    Mohammed Nabi (2/32) got rid of Rana and Eoin Morgan (2) off successive balls in the 18th over.

  • SRH captain David Warner wins toss, asks KKR to bat

    By PTI
    CHENNAI: Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner won the toss and elected to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match, here on Sunday.

    Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh was named in the KKR playing eleven.

    The Teams

    Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (c), Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins, Harbhajan Singh, Prasidh Krishna and Varun Chakravarthy

    Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (c), Wriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey, Jonny Bairstow, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma and T Natarajan

  • Dinesh Karthik offers huge amount of support to me: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan

    By ANI
    CHENNAI: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Eoin Morgan has said that Dinesh Karthik is a vital cog in the franchise’s set up and he provides a great deal of support to him.

    KKR will play their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 edition against the SunRisers Hyderabad later today at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

    “DK offers a lot with the bat and behind the stumps. He has been in fine form, and he is always one of those players who if you watch him train and particularly bat, he times the ball beautifully and hits the ball further than most of the guys. He offers a huge amount of support to me on the pitch and off the field as well. Very grateful that he is in good form and in our team,” Morgan told kkr.in.

    In the players’ auction held in February this year, KKR bought Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan for Rs 3.2 crore and he would add another spin option to the KKR lineup.

    Speaking about Shakib’s acquisition, Morgan said: “Given that we have a bit more travel this year and we go from venue to venue, it’s important to have strength and depth in the squad. Shakib Al Hasan gives us a different dynamic in the team. Given that we play at different venues where the conditions change quite a lot, you have a spin bowling all-rounder who had success in international cricket and IPL at different stages. If called upon, he can definitely deliver.”

    Champions in 2012 and 2014, the boys in Purple and Gold will be gunning for their third title as they gear up for the upcoming edition of the tournament.

    Speaking about Sunil Narine, Morgan said: “The IPL is such a competitive tournament with the smallest of margins that can make a big difference, particularly in the playoff stages. For me, when I was a young kid coming through as a professional and looking to guys who had either won things or had a different attitude regardless of the situation of the game, they would always have a positive body language, or they would always be doing something to affect the game. Shakib and Sunil are no different.”

    “In big moments of the game, particularly last year, you would throw Sunil the ball or you would get him in with the bat because he has been in that situation over and over again; he believes in himself and in the team to go and get through and win that situation,” he added.

    Last year, KKR failed to qualify for the playoffs as the side finished at the fifth place in the points table.

  • Playing for India has added to my confidence, says Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Prasidh Krishna

    By ANI
    CHENNAI: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Prasidh Krishna has said that his confidence got a major boost after he made his ODI debut for India last month.

    KKR will play their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 edition against the SunRisers Hyderabad later today at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

    Prasidh had made his debut in the three-match ODI series against England last month. The pacer also went on to take four wickets in his debut match as he helped Virat Kohli-led India to register a improbable win. “It’s been two weeks that I played three games for India and now back in KKR, practising and waiting to play. All I realise is time has been flying and it’s going to fly no matter what you do. But on the hindisight, it’s been a great experience to have made my debut for India. It’s a dream come true for any cricketer. In terms of the praise I have been getting, it only adds to my confidence levels and I look forward to taking it ahead from here,” Krishna told kkr.in.

    “At the beginning of the match where I made my debut, there was a bit of pressure situation. But Virat and the other seniors told me to always be on the front foot, and it worked well. We made a comeback, and we won. So yes, that’s one lesson I have learnt – about being positive no matter what the situation is,” he added.

    Last year, KKR failed to qualify for the playoffs as the side finished at the fifth place in the points table.

    Prasidh Krishna has so far played 24 matches in the IPL, managing to take 18 wickets at an economy rate of 9.33.

  • Boys trained hard and prepared well, says SRH skipper David Warner ahead of KKR clash

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Ahead of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper David Warner said that the boys have trained hard and they are ready for the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League.

    Warner-led side had won five out of their last six games to qualify for the playoffs in the 13th edition of the tournament and the team will be looking to carry forward the momentum in this year’s IPL.

    “Really excited to get out, we had a practice session and the boys are ready to go…. they trained hard and prepared well. Had two good practice games. We are ready to come out and light it up hopefully,” Warner said in a video posted by SRH on Twitter.

    “We know our supporters through social media and they are extremely supportive, I wish they could come but I know they are supporting us 100 per cent and we appreciate their support. Hopefully, we can entertain you by winning some games,” he added.

    on Saturday, England batsman Jason Roy arrived in Chennai for the IPL. Roy was signed by SRH ahead of the tournament as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh. The Australia all-rounder made himself unavailable for the entire season owing to personal reasons.

    Roy will remain in seven days of quarantine as per BCCI’s SOPs before joining the squad.

    Over the years, SRH has depended heavily on skipper Warner and he has consistently delivered. With 548 runs in the 13th edition, the captain once again led the Hyderabad unit’s charge. And it will be a delight for the SRH team management that opening partner Jonny Bairstow has also been in tremendous form.

    When it comes to the bowling department, Warner has one of the best line-ups at his disposal. While Bhuvneshwar is back and showed his prowess in the recently concluded series against England, T Natarajan stole the show in the last edition and was rewarded with a national call-up. Not to forget Sandeep Sharma’s swing bowling and Rashid Khan’s spin.

  • KKR’s Pat Cummins says fun to be with ‘relaxed’ Shubman Gill ahead of IPL

    By PTI
    CHENNAI: Kolkata Knight Riders pace spearhead Pat Cummins is a big fan of Shubman Gill and said he likes the way the young India opening batsman stays relaxed while taking the game on.

    “He’s good, he’s young. He wants to take the game on and is really relaxed,” the star Aussie pacer said in an Instagram live by KKR in the build-up to their opening IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Sunday.

    “He doesn’t take cricket or life too seriously. So it’s good fun to be with him,” the world’s no 1 Test pacer added, hailing the India youngster as the duo would be seen playing together, months after their thrilling duel in the Test series Down Under.

    The 21-year-old was one of the architects of India’s epic Test series win Down Under, in what was his debut outing.

    Gill hit a counter-attacking 91 in the second innings of the fourth and final Test in Brisbane, something that set up India’s epic chase of 328 at the Gabba en route to their 2-1 series triumph.

    Pat Cummins

    “I get along really well with Shubman. It was a great debut for him last summer in Australia. We had some good contests out in the field. I really feel happy for him, he had a great start to his Test career,” Cummins said.

    Amid the COVID-19 scare, IPL will follow a caravan format and for the first time the franchises will be deprived of home advantage as KKR too would miss playing at the iconic Eden Gardens.

    “Just looking forward to playing for you guys this season. I know, unfortunately, we’re not going to get up to Kolkata and see you in person but yeah give us all the love on social media.

    “We see it all and we absolutely love it, and we’ll be trying our best for you, so stick with us and yeah hopefully see you all soon,” Cummins said in a message to the fans.

  • Confident that Harbhajan Singh will do good job for KKR: Dinesh Karthik

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has said picking spinner Harbhajan Singh was not easy and he also added that the veteran looks like a ‘different man’ now.

    The Turbanator will turn 41 this July but he still has the passion to perform and succeed at the highest level. The IPL 2021 is slated to kickoff from April 9 and KKR will play their first match on April 11 against SunRisers Hyderabad in Chennai.

    “Picking him I think wasn’t easy, considering that he has been around for so long. But the amount of interest and intensity he has shown in the last one week is just fabulous. He has been coming to practice sessions early, much ahead of all other players! And he has been doing it consistently! I think he is a different man now from whatever little I have seen of him this week,” the official website of KKR quoted Karthik as saying.

    “Even in a practice game that starts at 7 PM, he had come at 4 O’clock! He was batting before that, he bowled to Shakib Al Hasan and Eoin Morgan, and then did his stretching again before getting into the practice game. He is bowling in the match and also fielding all 20 overs. That’s about as much as you can ask for from a man of his stature! He has achieved everything. Yet to show this kind of interest at this stage of his career speaks volumes of him as a character. I am sure he will do a great job for KKR,” he added.

    Harbhajan was bought in the 2021 auction for Rs 2 crore by KKR. He has earlier played for Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in the past.

    Earlier, KKR skipper Eoin Morgan had said that the addition of Harbhajan will further bolster the spin bowling lineup of the franchise.

    “I think adding Harbhajan to our squad has strengthened our spin department. If you look at our spin department, on paper it is one of the best in the tournament and that is factual. We have to play in Chennai and it can turn there, it can raise the eyebrows of our spinners there. If we do well in the tournament, our spinners would have bowled well,” Morgan had said during a virtual press conference.

  • IPL 2021: Gurkeerat Singh Mann replaces injured Rinku Singh at Kolkata Knight Riders

    By IANS
    NEW DELHI: Gurkeerat Singh Mann has replaced the injured Rinku Singh at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the Indian Premier League (IPL) said in a statement.

    Rinku has been ruled out of the season due to his knee injury.

    “Kolkata Knight Riders have signed up Gurkeerat Singh Mann as replacement for batsman Rinku Singh, who will be unavailable for the entire season due to a knee injury,” said the IPL in a statement.

    Gurkeerat played for Royal Challengers Bangalore last season in the IPL. He played eight matches and managed to score just 80 runs. This will be his eighth season in the IPL. Rinku, who made his IPL debut in 2017, has played a total of 11 IPL games.

    The 2021 IPL starts on April 9 and KKR face SunRisers Hyderabad in their first match of the season on April 11.

  • IPL 2021 SWOT analysis: KKR desperate to turn fortunes post tough transition

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be striving for consistency in its bid to recreate old magic which has been lost during a difficult phase of rebuilding lost post Gautam Gambhir’s departure.

    Be it the opening combination, middle-order or finding a finisher, KKR struggled for stability in the last edition in the UAE, while a change of captaincy at the halfway stage did not help them either.

    Add the floundering forms of their two biggest Caribbean stars — a half-fit Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, who is not even half the bowler after being repeatedly called for suspect action, KKR missed the playoffs for a second time in a row in the Gambhir era.

    Here’s is a SWOT analysis of the side that will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their season-opener in Chennai on April 11.

    STRENGTHS:

    In Eoin Morgan, his first stint as full-time KKR captain, the Purple Brigade have got one of the most astute brains of the white-ball format.

    The English World Cup-winning skipper, who took over the role after seven games last season, was one of the brightspots for the team in 2020.

    The left-hander struck 418 runs in 14 innings at an average of 41.

    80 and also hit the most sixes (24), giving impetus in the death overs with his cameos.

    KKR have made some smart additions to their squad in the mini-auction, apart from retaining their core of the side — 17 players — despite a disappointing season.

    By bringing back Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan and signing 2016 IPL Final man-of-the-match Ben Cutting, they have got the much-needed back-ups for the Windies duo of Narine and Russell, who failed to fire last season.

    KKR will also be buoyed by the smash-hit international debut of Prasidh Krishna, who took 4/54 in the first ODI against England in the recently-concluded series.

    This would also mean KKR would have a settled pace attack spearheaded by Aussie superstar Pat Cummins with Lockie Ferguson as the back-up option.

    WEAKNESSES:

    Once their strength, KKR of late has struggled in the spin department.

    Left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is a shadow of his past and retuned with just one wicket in five matches, of which he was not given the ball in one.

    One of the architects of their twin triumphs in 2012 and 2014 under Gambhir, Sunil Narine is also floundering.

    Narine’s action once again came to haunt him in 2020 as he was warned of suspect action and went on to miss four matches.

    Before that he had to be pulled out of CPL final for Trinbago Knight Riders as he was found chucking.

    It was another mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy a Tamil Naud architect-turned-cricketer who took up the responsibility in Narine’s absence to finish with most wickets — 17 — for KKR.

    But Chakravarthy’s fitness has come under the scanner time and again as it remains to be seen how he shapes up for the IPL.

    OPPORTUNITIES:

    Having decided to step away from being captain to “focus on his batting”, Dinesh Karthik too will look to make amends in 2021.

    Then there are the seasoned duo of Shakib-Al-Hasan and veteran Indian offspinner Harbhajan Singh who too will look to make most of the limited opportunities that come their way on slow tracks on offer in Delhi and Chennai.

    KKR have two interesting uncapped new signings in Venkatesh Iyer and Vaibhav Arora, who too will look to grab their opportunities.

    Left-hand Madhya Pradesh batsman Iyer is fresh from a blistering 146-ball 198 against Punjab in the Vijay Harare Trophy.

    Himachal Pradesh medium-pacer Arora is in the form of his life after taking a hat-trick on debut against Maharashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

    THREATS:

    KKR would need good start from opener Shubman Gill to give better starts this year in the Powerplay overs.

    Gill consumed a lot of deliveries upfront in most games which did create pressure on middle-order.

    The Morgan-led side would look to ensure that they get a winning combination, something that eluded them last time as they would be desperate to make the cut.

    KKR Squad:

    Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi.

  • IPL 2021: KKR batsman Nitish Rana tests negative for COVID-19 after testing positive on March 22

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Nitish Rana has tested negative for coronavirus after returning a positive result on March 22. Having undergone self-isolation after the positive result, he underwent a COVID-19 test on Thursday and tested negative. He will start training shortly with an eye on the opening game against SunRisers Hyderabad on April 11.

    Commenting on the turn of events, KKR issued a statement which read: “Nitish Rana had checked into the KKR team hotel in Mumbai, on March 21, 2021 with a negative COVID report which was done on March 19, 2021. As per IPL protocol, he was tested on March 22, during his quarantine and the report showed that he was positive. He has had no symptoms and has been completely asymptomatic since. Again as per IPL protocol, he isolated himself and was tested again today. We are glad to report that he has tested negative. We expect him to start training with the team shortly and be fully fit well before the start of the season.”

    The BCCI SOP says a player who tests positive must isolate in the designated area outside the bio-secure environment for a minimum of 10 days from the first day of symptoms or the date of collection of the sample which resulted in a positive RT-PCR report whichever is earlier.

    “During the 10-day isolation, the individual must rest and avoid any exercises. The team doctor should regularly monitor the case. If symptoms worsen during the course of isolation, the individual must be hospitalised immediately,” the SOP states.

    “During the 10-day isolation, the individual will undergo an RT-PCR test on Day 9 and Day 10. Provided, both the test results from Day 9 and Day 10 are negative, and he does not have any symptoms for more than 24 hours, the individual will be permitted to re-enter the bio-secure environment. After recovery, players must undergo a cardiac screening before resuming any team activities,” the SOP adds.

    To account for any false positive RT-PCR test results, viz. anyone with a high CT-value and history of COVID-19 infection in the previous 90 days, serology tests will be conducted for the presence of IgG antibodies. If the serology test shows high IgG antibody levels indicating a recent infection, a repeat RT-PCR test will be conducted and if the result of the same is negative, the participant will be allowed to re-enter the bio-bubble immediately.