IPL 2018: The top tactical decisions that went under the radar

#2 KKR and the batting scheme

Chris Lynn and Dinesh Karthik

Kolkata Knight Riders have been at the forefront of this change over the last two years, after deciding to open with Sunil Narine and Chris Gayle following the loss of Andre Russell down the order during IPL 2017.

The result is not only an explosive start more often than not, but also a good record in the initial batting powerplay. One of the highlighting facts of a T20 game is that the batting team has all of the ten wickets they can play with, for a sum total of just twenty overs. That is two overs per wicket fallen. The best T20 batting sides are those that utilise their available batting resources in these 20 overs in an optimum way.

By optimum, I do not intend that a side be filled with all-time batting greats. Different stages along an innings need different ways of playing.

And at the end of two successive seasons, the outcome they have effected is incredible. Taking a cue from just this season, it is true that no other team has as many wickets as them - 26 - in the batting powerplays, but no one has come close to their 9.11 run rate either.

It's not like they let up after that either - their average first-innings score was 191, the tournament's highest - and thanks to a big-hitter in Russell and a steady hand in skipper Dinesh Karthik in the middle order, they had the best middle-overs run rate too.

This approach showed in their chasing as well: in a tournament of close finishes, Knight Riders' attacking approach resulted in just two of their six successful chases going into the final over. They failed to chase totals down just thrice in 16 matches, but the approach was always the same.

Even when a wicket fell, finding the boundary was prioritised over settling in. Following the Narine antics, what happened the previous ball did not influence how the next one was played. It could well be the T20 batting template going forward, as sides look to go top-heavy in the quest for bigger totals.