With four victories out of seven matches, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are at top four in the point’s table at the halfway stage of the IPL 2020. However, according to its pacer Pat Cummins his team has not been able to put together a “complete game” yet. Hence, going forward he expects KKR to buckle up and be more authoritative on the field.
“I think four wins, three losses, you know, is a pretty good result. We’re in the top-four. And I don’t think we’ve played anywhere near our best cricket yet, we haven’t played that complete game that blows a team out of the water,” Cummins said on the eve of their match against Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi.
KKR’s last two victories had come against Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. In both those matches they were in a tricky positions at one point but thanks to some brilliant death bowling and some poor shot selections on part of their opponents, they got a backdoor entry.
“We had no right to win those two games, but we still won… That’s a sign of a really good side. We feel like we can win from any position. So, hopefully we can just work on a couple of areas, don’t want to peak too early, by the final we’ll be right to go,” the Aussie pacer explained.
Meanwhile, against their next opponent Mumbai Indians – a team, which has been a nemesis for KKR in the history of IPL –Cummins expect to bowl better than what he did in their first encounter this season (3 overs for 49 runs).
“We got to make amends for our first game of the year, they beat us, didn’t play our best game. So, another great chance to test this against the group leaders.
“Hopefully I will bowl better than we did in the first game, concentrate on what we do well as bowlers. At different times everyone in the side bowled really well. Hopefully we can bring it all together. We like playing in Abu Dhabi, so hope it’s a good game,” he said.
Nevertheless, talking about the role of bowling bulk of his overs in the powerplay, Cummins said that the decision is not a static one and things may change as the tournament progresses.
“That’s the role DK has given me. It might change as the tournament goes along. We’ll wait and see. But we’ve got a great luxury in someone like Dre Russ [Andre Russell] can come and bowl great death overs…
“We’ve got plenty of options for guys who can bowl the whole way through the innings. So I will bowl wherever I’m told, so I’m happy,” he added further.