What’s the story?
Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Trent Boult confirmed that his side will stick to the plan of opening with Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn despite the loss against Mumbai Indians, which robbed them of the opportunity to finish in the top two.
Speaking about the decision to open with Lynn and Narine after the loss against MI, Boult said: “It’s the formula we have followed throughout the tournament. It was about Narine and Lynn trying to put pressure on the opposition. The Powerplay is a big phase of the game. It has come off very well for us in other games. I don’t think there’s any need to change the formula. It was just unfortunate that it did not work out tonight”.
Extra Cover: Gautam Gambhir livid after KKR's batting performance against MI
In case you didn’t know…
After the loss against Kings XI Punjab, Gautam Gambhir hinted during the post-match presentation ceremony that KKR might look to change the opening combination of Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine to ensure that they get the most out of both himself and Robin Uthappa.
The heart of the matter
Although KKR have opted for the settled and conservative pairing of Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir in the previous editions, they went for the explosive option of Chris Lynn at the start of this year’s edition. In his absence, they went for Sunil Narine alongside Gambhir, which proved to be a masterstroke on the management’s part.
Upon Lynn’s return, KKR have stuck with Narine and opted to go with the West Indian, alongside the hard-hitting Australian batsman and Boult’s words suggest that they are going to stick to the formula despite diminishing returns of late from Narine.
What’s next?
KKR are through to the playoffs and as they didn’t finish in the top two they will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator with the winner going through to a virtual semi-final and the loser being knocked out.
Author’s Take
Unlike previous editions, KKR have opted for the explosive option at the start of the innings in this year’s tournament and it has largely paid off. If Lynn and Narine get going, as they did against RCB when they registered the highest powerplay score in the history of the tournament, they can be unstoppable and the decision to stick with the pair certainly makes a lot of sense.
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