Dinesh Karthik has been a star for underestimated KKR in IPL 2018

After being bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders in January 2018 for Rs 7.4 crore, the main idea of the think tank was to cash in on Dinesh Karthik’s newfound swagger with the bat. The eastern giants handed the reins of the captaincy and gave Karthik the freedom to express himself and guide the young team. Ten matches into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 season for KKR and the confidence of Karthik has stayed intact.

The senior player, who hit the famous last-ball six to win the Nidahas Trophy for India in March, seems to have rediscovered himself. He will soon turn 33, but Karthik is at the peak of his form. KKR stand fourth in the IPL table and are pushing for a place in the playoffs. For a player, who is marking his first full-time appearance as skipper of a side, a top-four finish would in itself be an achievement.

KKR’s strong response to expectations

After the IPL 2018 auction, the KKR team management was trolled by fans and questioned by pundits for going into the tournament with no bench strength and lack of quality in the squad. There were speculations that the side will fail to be a contender for the playoffs and could finish in the bottom half. Weeks passed and the two-time champions were dealt with a severe blow when Mitchell Starc was ruled out with an injury.

But now under the stewardship of DK and the form of their core players, they have done decently well to meet the expectations of the passionate KKR fans. Five wins out of ten, however, the team still needs a few wins more to get past the line.

Yes, the team has the thinnest squad, but that, in turn, has been a blessing compared to teams with larger pools. But they need to arrest the slide of inconsistency in the batting which was highlighted against MI at the Wankhede.

How has DK fared?

When it comes to his batting, the wicketkeeper-batsman has been in the thick of the action. 316 runs from ten games at a strike-rate of 147.66, DK has led from the front.

He performed consistently in the few games he has played for India off late in the limited overs format. And getting that form into the IPL was much important for the Knights. It brings familiarities with Gautam Gambhir, who scored consistently though at the top but that assurance is important.

He has chipped in every game, but the dual innings against RCB this season were both stand out performances. The 45* against CSK in the previous outing was the icing on the cake. In pressure situations, one needs a calm head and Karthik has provided that stability. Against MI at the Wankhede, he ran out of partners in the end, but credit to him to take the side close.

Captaincy a new learning curve

With every match, he is learning the trades quickly. Against CSK at Eden Gardens, he took a big risk bowling his three spinners for the last three overs of the innings against MS Dhoni. It seemed to have worked well. A factor that the captain could use in the matches to come.

When you look at the matches against CSK in Chennai and vs DD at the Kotla, his choices at the death were questioned as KKR lost. Since then he worked upon that and change followed.

What strikes well for DK and KKR is that the skipper believing in youngsters and both Shivam Mavi and Shubhman Gill have taken centerstage. The decision to promote Gill to No.4 against the Super Kings turned out as a masterstroke. For these small decision making stances, he deserves a lot of credit.

Can KKR qualify for top four?

After winning two back to back games, they lost to familiar opponents Mumbai Indians. They face them again at Eden Gardens next and have to clinch three victories more to ensure qualification. KKR and the skipper wouldn’t want to look at the record against this team heading into the game. They will, however, want the top order to fire and for Robin Uthappa who was always so consistent for the team to stay in the middle longer.

The middle-order is still a bit of a concern. If the likes of Nitish Rana and Gill pick things up and fine-tune their game further the Knight Riders would’ve solved a major issue. Bowling wise – heavily spin reliant – they are an interesting bunch. If they can build up from here on, KKR should qualify.

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