What we saw on Sunday night was the shortest final of all times in IPL history with Kolkata Knight Riders thrashing Sunrisers Hyderabad. It was sort of an underwhelming performance from the Sunrisers for they had played the tournament with a bullish attitude. They had played the tournament with an attitude to dominate. Sunrisers scored massive totals of 200+ and 250+ in the season and looked unbeatable at one stage. But in a tournament like IPL, such sprints are hard to sustain. This tournament is more like a 10k race than a 100m dash.
You must survive the injuries and negate the poor form to do well. The IPL is very demanding and that is why it is the best T20 tournament in the world. SRH ran out of gas, eventually. But they did provide loads of entertainment for the fans.
When I look at KKR, some of my fellow commentators and cricket pundits may agree that they did not have a great balance to their side when it comes to adapting to the conditions. But they played as a unit, with performances coming in from young and old. Sunil Narine and Andre Russell chipped in with performances, pace bowling department did well even if Mitchell Starc struggled to find form initially.
Varun Chakaravarthy and Narine did well as spinners. The all-rounder in Narine was simply outstanding to watch. He batted superbly, showing intent with the bat at the top, giving solid starts to the team.
One other thing that sets KKR apart from others is that when they hit the winning run, they did not look back. They were able to change gears to keep the good run going. The chemistry between players looked good and it was clearly visible that the players knew their roles too and performed them accordingly. It bodes well for them in the seasons ahead.
A special mention for Starc. Big player, big reputation and a big price tag. It was a tough start for him as he did not pick wickets and went for runs, consistently. But KKR did not pull him back. They did not just drop him because of poor shows at the start. The KKR management knew he was a big-match player.
Starc had not played in IPL since 2015 and even internationally, he has been more of a Test match player for Australia. He took his time. Having said that, he is someone who comes with a lot of experience. He knows how to come back from poor form. The ace pacer was
beginning to look fine as the playoffs approached and the ball in the final that knocked over Abhishek Sharma defined Starc’s class and completed his return to full form. You expect such a delivery from a superstar at such a crucial moment.
Starc wrote a lovely script for himself, starting slowly but gradually getting back in shape and eventually bowling a superb spell in the final. Top marks to him for weathering the storm early on and bouncing back in style.
Like I said earlier in this article, you need to doff your hats to the Knight Riders for winning in different conditions. They won the final in Chennai, which is not an easy place to win.
SRH employed one way to play, which is to attack from the onset. It was ironic that the team which scored the highest score in IPL’s history, ended up getting out for the lowest score in the final.
Going forward, it is a challenge mentally for SRH as they need to gather themselves and plan. They had a fantastic tournament before they exploded in the final and I am guessing it will require a post-mortem of sorts. They must investigate some of their shortcomings, one of which could be how do they bat when the conditions change. They can build high scores surely on flat tracks but how can they win matches on surfaces that do not offer runs. Chennai was a tough surface to bat on and it required them to adjust quickly.
We cannot end this article without mentioning Gautam Gambhir and his contribution to KKR’s success as the mentor. In my opinion, the relationship between a head coach, a mentor and the captain is very crucial. I think KKR got it right on these fronts as you saw
Chandrakant Pandit, mentor Gambhir and captain Iyer in sync throughout the competition. Gambhir, having won titles as captain, back in 2012 and 2014 comes back to win again, this time in a different role. He, alongside the rest of the coaching staff, deserves credit for working hard in the background.
It would be interesting to see whether KKR are able to do a CSK or MI from here and maybe win two more titles to come at par with them. Their biggest challenge is to repeat this season’s performance next season. But for now, they are deserved winners and must celebrate the big win.
