IPL 2021: Five losses and two wins, revisiting KKR's run so far in this season
IPL 2021: Five losses and two wins, revisiting KKR's run so far in this season
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IPL 2021 has not been a sweet journey so far for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). With five loss and two wins, they have a lot to catch up.
Firstpost takes a look at their campaign so far in this season:
Match 1, SRH vs KKR, 11 April - WON
KKR kicked off their IPL 2021 campaign with a win. They beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs in the first match.
SRH won the toss and asked KKR to bat first. KKR got off to a decent start as opening pair of Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana put on 53 of the first wicket. Gill fell for 15 but Rana carried and finished with 80 scored off 56 balls. Rahul Tripathi and Dinesh Karthik made sure KKR reached a good total of 187/6 at the end of 20 overs.
Despite efforts from Manish Pandey (61) and Jonny Bairstow (55), SRH failed to reach the target in allotted 20 overs and lost the game by 10 runs. Their first win.
Match 2, KKR vs MI, 13 April - LOST
KKR won the toss this time and decided to chase. Mumbai Indians got off to a bad start with Quinton de Kock scoring only 2 runs off 6 balls. Rohit Sharma (43) and Suryakumar Yadav (56) steadied the ship for Mumbai but the rest of the batting failed and they could muster 152 runs in 20 overs.
However, KKR found even this small target difficult to chase. Nitish Rana (57) again shone but others disappointed and KKR lost the match by 10 runs. Their first loss.
Match 3, RCB vs KKR, 18 April, LOST
RCB were next and it was another big challenge for KKR. Virat Kohli won the toss and asked KKR to bowl.
KKR picked up two early wickets and RCB were struggling at 9/2 initially. But Glenn Maxwell (78), AB de Villiers (76) ensured RCB finished with 204/4 at the end of 20 overs.
KKR did not really get along in the chase, losing wickets every now and then. Andre Russell (31) top-scored for KKR but they lost the match by 38 runs. Their second loss.
Match 4, CSK vs KKR, 21 April, LOST
KKR despite losing two games while chasing, decided to bowl first again. CSK openers Ruturaj Gaikwad (64) and Faf du Plessis (95) gave them a great start. Thanks to their effort, CSK put on a massive 220/3 on the board as KKR bowlers were smashed all over the park.
KKR got off to the worst start possible as they were 31/5 in under six overs. Karthik (40), Russell (54), and Cummins (66*) tried their best but KKR still lost the match 18 runs. Their third loss.
Match 5, KKR vs RR, 24 April - LOST
By this time, the teams had worked out a plan against KKR. RR too asked them to chase in this match.
None of the KKR batsmen could do much as they finished a low total of 133/9 in their 20 overs.
Rajasthan chased down the target in 18.5 overs thanks to a brilliant knock by their skipper Sanju Samson (42*). This was KKR's fourth loss.
Match 6, PBKS vs KKR, 26 April - WON
KKR took a big risk this time, opting to field again despite their chasing record being abysmal in the season.
However, the move worked as Punjab Kings were bowled out for only 123/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Prasidh Krishna picked the most wickets (3 for 30).
KKR got off to a bad start again as they were 17/3 at one time. But Rahul Tripathi and skipper Eoin Morgan (47) played well to take their side home. KKR won by five wickets to register the second win of the season.
Match 7, KKR vs DC, 29 April - LOST
Another massive game for KKR as they had last year's finalists DC up against them. It also happened to be their last match before the season came to a halt due to the raging coronavirus second wave in India.
DC won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Gill played well for his 43 and Russell at the back end did well too with 45 off 27 balls. KKR finished with 154/6 at the end of 20 overs.
However, a strong DC batting unit made short work of the chase, finishing it in just 16.3 overs with seven wickets in hand. Prithvi Shaw strokes 82 while Dhawan scored 46 to inflict another loss on KKR, their fifth of the season.
