IPL 2020: ‘Start on the right note for those four overs,’ says Kyle Mills on KKR's death bowling woes

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling coach Kyle Mills has said that the team management is trying to address KKR's death bowling woes that have hampered the franchise's progress in the last few seasons.

He added that he is preparing the bowlers to get to the death overs in a better position.

In an interview with Sportstar from Abu Dhabi, Mills said he is looking forward to the challenge of working on death bowling and that he is teaching the KKR bowlers the importance of not only bowling well at the end, but also not leaking too many runs in the overs prior.

“If you go to the death and the opposition is only two down and you have two players there on 60 and 60, it's going to be hard work. So if you can get to the death- call the death the last four overs- if you can get to that point in a better position, then the death will have a better outcome.

“So quite often you focus on the last four overs, but start on the right note for those four overs and just have some very specific plans for the last 24 balls... so we all have clear minds on the last 24 balls and we do our thing,” the former Kiwi pacer said.

The variety in KKR's bowling attack

KKR finished fifth in IPL 2019 (Image Credits: Scroll)

KKR have a core of young fast bowlers who are tailor-made for the conditions at Eden Gardens. Therefore, the side might struggle now that IPL 2020 is set to be played on the slow and turning pitches in the UAE.

Mills, however, rebutted any such possibility and said that all franchises will be on equal footing as all the teams were picked bearing Indian conditions in mind.

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“That’s a challenge for every team. For us, half of our games would have been at Eden Gardens (in Kolkata) and everyone else would be in the same boat. Now that the tournament has come across to the UAE, there is a challenge but there are big squads for every team and you kind of have your bases covered,” Mills, who has 327 international wickets, said.

Indeed, KKR have depth in their bowling line-up – starting from the fast bowlers to all-rounder Nitish Rana, left-arm orthodox M Siddharth, left-arm unorthodox Kuldeep Yadav and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.