2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by KKR in their IPL 2024 match vs CSK

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) understood just how tough it is to beat the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk, as they were hammered by seven wickets in Match 22 of IPL 2024 on Monday, April 8.

After being asked to bat first, the Knight Riders managed only 134 despite having an excellent powerplay. It was never going to be enough, with dew setting in, as the Super Kings chased it down at a canter, thanks to captain Ruturaj Gaikwad's unbeaten half-century.

Kolkata stumbled to their first loss of the tournament, and they made some mistakes along the way. While it shouldn't bother them too much, given their position in the standings, they will want to learn from the loss.

Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by KKR in their IPL 2024 match against CSK:

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#3 Mistake - Shreyas Iyer didn't bowl his main spinners in the powerplay

Varun Chakaravarthy bowled well after the powerplay [Image Courtesy: iplt20.com]

The only way KKR were going to beat CSK was by taking wickets in the powerplay. Even though there was not much swing on offer, Shreyas Iyer bowled his pacers for five of the six overs.

Even in the sixth over, Shreyas tossed the ball to Anukul Roy instead of bringing on one of his main weapons, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine. The move backfired, as Gaikwad picked the off-side gaps with surgical precision.

By the time Narine and Chakaravarthy were introduced, Chennai had already brought the asking rate under six and had lost only one wicket.

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#2 Masterstroke - Shreyas Iyer had a long-on for Rachin Ravindra

This might seem like a minor event in the large context of the game, and Rachin Ravindra himself was guilty of falling into the trap. Nevertheless, Shreyas resorted to an unconventional field in the powerplay, which paid off.

After Ravindra struck two boundaries down the ground off Mitchell Starc, KKR acted quickly and placed a long-on to the left-hander. Perhaps they had seen how he was dismissed during the last two games.

Vaibhav Arora coaxed Ravindra into attempting a loft down the ground, and long-on gleefully accepted the offering. Pacers don't generally have fielders on the straight boundary during the powerplay, but Shreyas and Vaibhav executed that plan perfectly.

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#1 Mistake - KKR got their batting order wrong

Andre Russell should've batted higher [Image Courtesy: iplt20.com]

Rinku Singh and Andre Russell are two of KKR's most capable, most dangerous batters. However, with hopes of a par score fast disappearing, they held the duo back and sent in Ramandeep Singh at No. 6.

Rinku walked to the crease in the 12th over, by which time Kolkata were well behind the eight ball. Russell, meanwhile, came in to bat in the 17th over, when Rinku was dismissed.

In fact, the Knight Riders even had Manish Pandey padded up, ready to come in as an impact player ahead of Russell. Their usage of their key men was baffling, to say the least.