In yet another dramatic IPL 2023 match, the Lucknow Super Giants conquered the Kolkata Knight Riders by one run. As a result, LSG secured a third-place finish in the playoffs, while KKR remained in seventh place.
Batting first at Eden Gardens, LSG finished their 20 overs with a respectable score of 176/8. The LSG batting effort was led by Nicholas Pooran’s (58 runs off 30 balls) brilliant counter attacking half century, which brought the Kolkata attack to test.
Prerak Mankad and Ayush Badoni also contributed significantly. Sunil Narine(4-0-28-2), Vaibhav Arora(4-0-30-2), and Harshit Rana(3-0-21-1) were the bowlers of choice for Kolkata.
Jason Roy (45 off 28 balls) and Venkatesh Iyer (24 off 15 balls)helped KKR have a fast start. KKR lost a flurry of wickets after Iyer left with the score at 61/1 in 5.5 overs. The LSG spinners formed a web around the hosts. They continuously grabbed the wickets and prevented them from breaking free.
Kolkata faced the difficult challenge of collecting 41 runs in the last two overs with only three wickets in hand. Rinku Singh (67 runs off 33 balls) performed one more act of heroism this season but in the end, KKR came up one run short.
With the defeat, KKR was officially eliminated from the IPL 2023. The Knights won only 6 of their 14 games. KKR had a mixed season with individual players putting in spectacular performances. The team lacked consistency, resulting in an early exit from the competition.
On that topic, here are three main reasons why KKR were eliminated from the IPL 2023:
1) Putting too much faith in Rinku Singh
KKR relied far too heavily on Rinku Singh. He scored 474 runs in 14 matches, with a strike rate of 149.52 and an average of 59.25. He has not been not out on six occasions. He is the only KKR batter in the ‘Top 10’ of Orange Cap leaderboard.
He was frequently left with too much to accomplish in the end. Players like Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer showed moments of brilliance but did not regularly rack up runs like Faf Du Plessis for RCB or Shubman Gill for GT.
KKR made investments in players such as Narayan Jagadeesan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, but both failed to live up to the management’s expectations.
Gurbaz scored 227 runs in 11 matches, with an average of 20.64 and a strike rate of 133.52. Jagadeesan, on the other hand, had a poor season, scoring 89 runs in six matches at an average of 14.83 and a strike rate of 109.87.
2) Andre Russell and Sunil Narine in poor form
Sunil Narine had an uneventful season this year. Narine took 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.97 in 14 matches this year. The West Indian superstar has been one of the most constant performers for KKR over the years, routinely breaking partnerships and bowling at a dismal economy rate.
However, he fell short of expectations this year. His economy rate and wicket-taking abilities were substantially lower in the early parts of the competition. He improved gradually as the season went.
Andre Russell had a poor season too. He had a dismal season with the ball, taking only 7 wickets at an economy rate of 11.34 in 14 games.
With the bat, he scored 227 runs in 14 games at an average of 20.64 and a strike rate of 145.51. KKR has suffered greatly as a result of the poor form of both of these IPL veterans.
3) No fixed opening partnerships
A solid starting duo is vital for any T20 franchise’s success. RCB, RR, PBKS, and CSK have all depended significantly on their openers. KKR has failed to establish the ideal opening combination.
This season KKR tried seven different beginning pairs, but none of them produced the desired results for the team. KKR attempted six different combinations last season as well, and this is considered as a reoccurring issue for the team.
KKR tried pairs like Mandeep Singh & Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer & Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Narayan Jagadeesan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Jason Roy, Jason Roy & Litton Das, Jason Roy & Narayan Jagadeesan, Venkatesh Iyer & Jason Roy.
None of these pairings delivered, forcing KKR to explore till the last game. The team management’s constant chopping changing and the players’ unreliability have cost the franchise dearly.