Gautam Gambhir might return back to the opening slot

Kolkata Knight Riders were assured of a berth in the playoffs a few days ago but following their defeat to Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday, their playoff qualification has been put in jeopardy. Still, with a game in hand and 16 points in the kitty, all is not lost for KKR as they play a home game against Mumbai Indians on Saturday.

The game against Mumbai is crucial for KKR in two regards. Firstly, a win will mean that they won’t have to depend on other teams results to know of their spot in the final four and secondly, they need to gather momentum leading into the playoffs. Their net run rate is excellent so even if they end up losing their last league game, they should anyway qualify ahead.

The 14-run loss against Punjab was majorly disappointing. Chris Lynn racked up 84 runs off just 52 balls but yet KKR fell short by a considerable margin. The Punjab spinners stuck to the task and pegged KKR back in chase of 168. Gautam Gambhir and Pandey ate up too many balls to falter in the middle overs which meant the asking rate got into double digits 12 overs into the chase.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Gambhir acknowledged that KKR were not good enough in the middle overs. “We started off really well. After six overs, especially me, Robin, Manish played a lot of dot balls, that was the turning point,” said a disappointed Gambhir. “We ended up building a lot of pressure on Lynny and the other guys. If we could have rotated better after six overs, things could have been different. Credit goes to [Punjab]. They hung in there, they didn’t give us easy runs, they were always trying to attack and put five fielders inside the ring.”

Apart from putting a good show against Mumbai, KKR also needs to recognise who could do a better job at the top of the innings alongside Chris Lynn. Narine has played some explosive innings this year but Gambhir batting at 3 disturbs the dynamics of the team. The skipper didn’t rule out the possibility of himself opening at the Eden Gardens.

“You could say I could have opened with Lynn and maybe Robin could have batted at three, his original number. But the way Sunil was hitting the ball, we thought he could give us the momentum up front. But we still have one game to go, let’s see, maybe the combination going forward could be me and Lynny opening and Robin batting at No.3.”

Gambhir has been self-effacingly dropped down the order for the team’s cause. He has had an outstanding run at the top of the order and must return to his usual position to make maximum impact for his team.