Back Story: To play or not to play, KKR’s Narine dilemma
KKR vs RR | Kolkata | Notes from last games
Kolkata (lost to srh)
What went wrong: Sunil Narine. The ‘mystery’ spinner has transgressed again in his bowling action. The match officials suspected a bent arm during some of his deliveries against Hyderabad. Narine returned with figures of 0/38 in his four overs. He’s allowed to bowl until reported again. Kolkata are facing a dilemma.
There’s some batting woes as well. In a rain-truncated game, Kolkata could manage only 20 runs in the final three overs against Hyderabad. The batsmen showed very little innovation and played into the hands of the medium pacers.
What went right: Morne Morkel. He came back well to take two wickets and restrict Hyderabad to 176 after a David Warner onslaught. Morkel has nine wickets from five matches. With Narine now a lesser force following a remodelled action, the South African quick has stepped up to the plate. Umesh Yadav’s inconsistency doesn’t offer much confidence.
Rajasthan Royals (lost to RCB)
What went wrong: Almost everything, except a decent opening stand between Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane. Rajasthan just didn’t turn up and Bangalore had a free ride. Alarming signs, for Rajasthan are prone to choking at the business end of the tournament. They lost four of their last five matches in 2014 to miss out on a play-off berth. Sanju Samson is apparently suffering second season blues with only 68 runs in seven matches. He threw away his wicket against Bangalore when a partnership was required in middle overs. Time to get his act together.
Conclusion
Uncertainty over Narine has put Kolkata in a spot of bother, notwithstanding the fact that they’ve a like-for-like replacement in Johan Botha. Focus has become an issue and it will be a test of character for Gautam Gambhir and his team. As for Rajasthan, the priority would be to avoid a hat-trick of losses.
