KKR lost their second home game this season against LSG yesterday. KKR was chasing a massive total of 239 and almost achieved it, falling just short by 4 runs. There are several factors right from the toss that didn’t go well for the hosts.
Toss
KKR Captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to bowl. It was a day game, and conditions were suitable for batting. Knowing that Dew factor won’t be there in the second innings, choosing to bowl was not an ideal decision. LSG batters enjoyed the conditions and put a huge score on the board, which created pressure on KKR batters while chasing.
Playing XI
Spencer Johnson was played ahead of Moen Ali. LSG ‘s middle order is heavily dominated by lefties. Moeen Ali as a genuine off-spinner, would have been handy against them. Spencer, who played instead of him, went for 46 runs in his 3 overs. He couldn’t find any movement while bowling under the hot sun and struggled to find his line and length today.
Moeen could have added depth to the batting line-up as well.
Lost Momentum
KKR started their chase very well by smashing 90 runs in the powerplay. Captain Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer continued the momentum after the powerplay as well. KKR were in a commanding position of 149/2 in 12 overs. Shardul Thakur came to bowl the 13th over.
The plan was to bowl wide Yorkers. But he couldn’t execute them well and bowled 5 wides before starting the over. Still, he stuck with his plan and got the wicket of Captain Rahane in the last ball of the over with the same plan of an outside off delivery. Rahane chipped it to the covers. It was a soft dismissal.
Rahane’s dismissal changed the momentum completely. KKR lost 4 more wickets for just 23 runs in the next 3 overs. They were reduced from 162/2 to 185/7. This slowdown in the middle changed the game towards LSG.
One Shot away
In the end, KKR just fell short of one big shot to seal the match. When 24 runs were required in the last over bowled by Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana hit the first ball to the boundary, but he wasted the second ball. He took a single in the third ball, and when Rinku came to strike, they required 19 off 3 balls. Rinku scored 14 runs in those 3 balls.
Had if Harshit not wasted that one ball and given a strike to Rinku earlier, maybe the result would have been different.
Also Read:Â KKR vs LSG: LSG Bowlers Pull Off A Hesit; Nicholas Pooran’s Onslaught Floors KKR