IPL 2018: Shining Shields and Chinks in the Armour- 4 talking points from KKR's performance

#2 The Indian pacer: The Missing Piece or Time to Test the Rookies?

Time to Don the Mantle? Nagarkoti and Mavi must be handed a chance for KKR

The pitch at Eden Gardens has undergone a radical transformation in the last few years. From being a slow turner to a deck where the ball comes sweetly onto the bat, the pitch now supports quicks who can maintain a consistent line and length and can deliver the ball at decent pace. Perfect example was the charging Umesh Yadav today, who caused quite a fetter in the camp of the Knight Riders. What this also means is that the pacers who give a slight room for error will be taken to the hustings on the outrageously quick outfield. While Umesh Yadav led the pace attack well in the past few seasons for KKR, R Vinay Kumar is clearly not the best equipped to lead that line this season. As evident in the game, there were a lot of loose deliveries and just not enough pace to extract the best out from the Eden track from Vinay Kumar. Already missing Mitchell Starc, the Indian pacer slot might turn out to be an Achilles Heel for KKR. Not getting much out of the spinners, turning to Nitish Rana against RCB was more of a desperation move because the pacers were not able to change the game.

However, they can take the leap of faith and place their hope on one of the star rookies from the U-19 World Cup- Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi- both of whom made people take note of them for their lethal pace and consistency Down Under. Who knows, might be the Emerging Stars who end up owning Eden. Definitely worth a shot.