IPL 2018: 3 tactical changes which can help the Kolkata Knight Riders to excel 

The Kolkata Knight Riders started their Indian Premier League(IPL) campaign in wonderful fashion as they defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their season opener. The departure of Gautam Gambhir was the biggest worry for the Kolkata fans. The two-time champions were in a spot of bother after the exit of their former skipper Gambhir. The Knights of Kolkata looked like a balanced side on paper but they were surrounded by injuries, which weakened their team.

The absence of Mitchell Starc added to their bowling woes. There was suspense on Chris Lynn and Andre Russell's injury too but the duo recovered in time for the IPL. After a wonderful start to the season, the Knight Riders were put on the backfoot after successive defeats. Dinesh Karthik's captaincy has been under the hammer after a few defeats. The Knights are currently at the fourth spot with three wins in seven games. The Karthik-led side would like to strengthen their position on the points table.

What can the men in purple do to consolidate on their position? Let us have a look at the three tactical changes which can help them perform better.

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#3 Batting order chaos

Lynn is an aggressive opener

The Knight Riders have attained success with their current batting order. With Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn at the top of the order, the Knights have been aggressive at the beginning of the innings. Narine has been converted into a pinch hitter and has done his job with perfection, scoring a 17-ball fifty earlier in the tournament. To promote Narine, KKR had to push down Robin Uthappa to the number three spot. Uthappa has had the starts but has failed to consolidate on them.

Since his shoulder and muscle injury, Lynn has been unable to swing the bat freely. He has lowered his backlift due to which the power in his shots has decreased. Despite this, he has been successful in this edition of the IPL but the Men in Purple need to change their batting order. They need to promote Uthappa to open the innings and youngster Shubman Gill needs to get a promotion in the batting order too. Gill scored a gutsy 37 against the Delhi Daredevils.

Andre Russell has been an integral part of KKR's batting order in this edition of the league. Russell scored a fiery 88 off 32 balls against the Chennai Super Kings, with his innings including 11 massive sixes. In the last few games, the Carribean all-rounder has not had enough balls to play and he is being underutilized by the KKR management. The all-rounder needs to bat higher up the order if the platform is set for him. The Karthik-led side will have a higher chance of getting high scores with Russell getting enough deliveries to face.

#2 The Playing XI

Lynn has scored only 186 runs in this season

The Knight Riders have struggled with their selection in this IPL. With injuries surrounding them, they haven't figured out the right XI to do the job. Veteran pacer Vinay Kumar struggled in the early phase of the tournament and he was replaced by youngster Shivam Mavi who bowled brilliantly till the game against the Delhi Daredevils where he was taken for 58 runs in 4 overs.

KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik needs to make some bold decisions. Chris Lynn has scored only 186 runs in 7 innings of this tournament, and the Australian hitter can be rested for a few games. This will give a bit more space in the batting order and will allow Uthappa to bat at the order with Gill being promoted to the number three spot.

The bowling department also needs a few changes. Mitchell Johnson has failed on multiple occasions in this tournament. He conceded 42 runs in his 4 overs against the Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, which assisted the pacers in the previous game. KKR can try Javon Searles in place of the Australian southpaw.

#1 The bowling conundrum

Narine is KKR's leading wicket-taker in this tournament

The Knight Riders have a balanced bowling lineup, which includes quality spinners and pacers. Karthik has a lot of bowling options with three spinners and three pacers in KKR's ranks. Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav handle the spin department whereas Mitchell Johnson, Shivam Mavi and Andre Russell handle the pace department. Nitish Rana can also roll his arm over.

In KKR's seven games, the spinners have bowled 23 overs in the powerplay. Despite the pitch condition, the KKR skipper has persisted with the spinners in the powerplay. The move paid off in the first few games but the spinners have taken a bit of hammering in the recent games. In the previous game against DD, Karthik handed over the ball to Mavi in the final over.

Sunil Narine had an over up his sleeve but Karthik decided to go with the youngster who conceded 29 runs in the final over. Karthik's tactics can pay off when the Knights go up against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bangalore.