The league stages of IPL 2020 is headed towards an interesting finish after Kings XI Punjab leapfrogged to fourth place on the points table after a thumping win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday. Though both teams have 12 points apiece, KKR’s poor Net Run Rate saw them drop down to fifth position.
Here are the talking points from the game
Dinesh Karthik is a finisher!
Dinesh Karthik has excelled in his role as a finisher for Team India over the years in T20s. In his limited chances, the Tamil Nadu player had impressed with his ability to play risky strokes in the fag end of the innings. However, this season KKR have used him as a top-order player, and the returns are there to be seen. He has batted at number three and at number four for most parts of IPL 2020, which is a bigger surprise as KKR have Eoin Morgan to do that job for them. He has amassed 148 runs this season at an average of just 13.45 and a strike rate of 120.32, and it is clear that this experiment has not worked.
The one time Karthik scored a fifty in 29 balls, he batted at number five – in the previous fixture against Kings XI Punjab. The former KKR skipper had scored runs at an average of almost 50 in 2018 at a strike rate of 147.77 and at an average of 31.62 with a high score of an unbeaten 97 last year while finishing off the innings, and this promotion of Karthik game-after-game remains befuddling.
Russell’s injury has affected the balance for KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders went in with just five specialist batsmen on Monday, with Sunil Narine coming in at six. They saw Kamlesh Nagarkoti, who has an average of 7.5 as the number seven batsman, while Pat Cummins walked out at number eight. With KKR at 10 for 3 at one stage, KKR already saw their last recognized pair at the crease in the 3rd over itself when Eoin Morgan walked out along with Shubman Gill (no disrespect to Narine).
While the move worked in the last game against Delhi Capitals, a number of quick wickets means that KKR’s batting and the fact that they are a batter short comes to haunt them. This balance has been affected greatly by the injury to Andre Russell, who has missed the last few games. If the West Indian misses the remaining two games, KKR could do well to slot in Tom Banton at the top, with Rahul Tripathi possibly being used lower down the order – a role he played to perfection in an earlier game against Delhi. In that scenario, Pat Cummins, who just has six wickets thus far is expected to drop out. Strengthening the batting should remain KKR’s top priority, and the INR 15.5 crore cricketer might just have to pay for his poor returns thus far.
How can Punjab and KKR qualify?
Punjab, with their fifth successive win on the trot, ensured they took the number four position on the points table. They just need to win their remaining two games, go to 16 points, and they will enter the playoffs without depending on any other results. However, if they lose one game and end on 14, then they would be hoping that other results go their way. They will want KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad to lose at least one of their remaining games, so they can sneak through.
KKR will need to win their remaining games to go to 16 points and will want that Kings XI Punjab only win a maximum of one game. If Punjab win both as well, they will go to 16, and will edge ahead due to a better NRR. If KKR end up winning just one, then they will be at the mercy of other results and could miss out, once again due to a poor NRR.
#KXIP makes its way in the Top 4 in the Points Table after Match 46 of #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/PlCAYG6k9R
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 26, 2020