IPL 2019, KKR vs KXIP: 3 mistakes that cost KXIP the game

Andre Russell
Andre Russell

In 6th match of IPL 2019, Kolkata Knight Riders hosted Kings XI Punjab at The Eden Gardens. KXIP skipper Ravichandran Ashwin won the toss and decided to bowl first on a very good pitch.

KXIP made four changes to the team while KKR fielded the same line-up.

The hosts started off quite brightly. Even though Chris Lynn went early, Sunil Narine played a brilliant cameo to help kick-start the innings on an explosive note.

After the fall of both openers, Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa struck a solid partnership together. Rana played a wonderful knock, and after his dismissal Andre Russell carried on from where he had left vs SRH.

Russell's death overs onslaught got KKR to an imposing 218.

Punjab's hopes of chasing down the score depended heavily on their openers KL Rahul and Chris Gayle. But Rahul got out on 1 and Gayle couldn't make a significant contribution either.

From there on, it was always going to be very hard for KXIP. Even though Mayank Agarwal and David Miller played good knocks, the target proved to be too steep. In the end, they fell short by 28 runs and KKR registered their 2nd consecutive victory.

Here are three mistakes committed by KXIP that cost them the match:

1) Introducing Varun Chakravarthy in the powerplay

Ravi Ashwin
Ravi Ashwin

Varun Chakravarthi had made a name for himself from Tamil Nadu Premier League. He was superb in the tournament and earned some big bucks in the IPL auction.

Varun was making his debut today and was introduced in the 2nd over of the innings itself. He was bowling to Lynn and Narine, which was a huge challenge for a rookie.

His first ball was alright but it all went downhill after that. He bowled either too full and in the arc of Narine, or too short. Narine took full advantage of Varun's inexperience and smashed 3 sixes and a four off him.

Varun went for 25 runs in his first over.

He came back very well in his next 2 overs, going for only 10 runs in his next two overs and picking up a wicket as well. But the initial avalanche of runs he conceded handed too much of an initiative to KKR.

Varun was very new to the tournament and wasn't experienced enough. The powerplay overs are hard for spinners to bowl in, and Ashwin should have opted for a seamer or an experienced spinner instead of the debutant at that stage.

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2) Bowling Mandeep Singh

Trying to fill in the overs
Trying to fill in the overs

After 12 overs KKR were 108/2, looking in position to reach a decent total. Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa were in fine touch, milking the bowling for singles and twos, and at that stage it seemed manageable for KXIP to restrict the hosts to a score under 200.

But Varun Chakravarthy, who was playing his first match in the IPL, had gone for plenty in his first two overs. Due to the lack of a 6th bowling option, Ravichandran Ashwin needed to get an over out of someone.

He chose Mandeep Singh to do that job. But this was the first time Mandeep was bowling in IPL, and it showed.

He bowled at a very gentle pace, and was also guilty of bowling wrong lines and lengths. Mandeep went for 18 runs in that over and completely changed the momentum of the match.

Ashwin could have gone with Chris Gayle instead. Gayle is not new to bowling and has often bowled such overs for his team. He has a lot of experience as well and tends to bowl a lot of yorkers.

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3) No-ball in the 18th over

Ashwin seemed a bit confused
Ashwin seemed a bit confused

KKR were going extremely strong due to a great partnership between Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa. Rana looked in superb form and was striking the ball into the stands effortlessly.

KXIP desperately needed his wicket, and by a stroke of good fortune that's exactly what happened.

They got Rana out in the 16th over and managed to pull things back a bit in the next few deliveries. After 14 overs KKR were 146/2, but they managed only 15 runs in the next 17 balls.

To keep themselves in the competition, KXIP needed to stop KKR from reaching the 200 mark. But with Andre Russell at the crease, anything was possible.

Mohammed Shami was bowling the 18th over and he did well in the first 5 balls, conceding only one boundary. On the 6th ball of the over, he bowled a beautiful yorker to knock Russell's stumps over.

But it was a no ball - not because of Shami overstepping, but because only three fielders were inside the circle. According to the rules, you need at least 4 fielders inside the circle, otherwise the ball is a no-ball.

This blunder cost KXIP big time as Russell scored 42 runs from the next 11 balls he faced and took the score away from their reach.

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Edited by Musab Abid