'The top order needs to be blamed' - Gautam Gambhir slams KKR batsmen for their poor performance against CSK

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were involved in one of the most bizarre run-chases against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Batting second at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, KKR’s top-order crumbled like a pack of cards. The Super Kings pacer Deepak Chahar ran through the opposition’s batting line-up to pick as many as four wickets in the first five overs.

The poor show by the batters resulted in KKR reeling at 31 for 5 in 5.2 overs. However, the team scripted an amazing comeback courtesy of power-hitters Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, and Pat Cummins. Towards the end, Cummins played a sublime knock of not out 66 runs but he ran out of the partners, and thus it resulted in the two-time champions losing by 18 runs.

Former KKR captain Gautam Gambhir carried out a detailed analysis of KKR’s loss saying that the top-order needs to bat with some responsibility. The veteran slammed the batters as he believes that there was no application and one shouldn’t panic while chasing 220 at a batting paradise like the Wankhede.

“The top order [needs to be blamed]. Eventually, they [the lower order] ran out of partners. It’s not that they couldn’t have chased this total but they just ran out of partners. If No. 6, 7 and 8 can take you this close then it really shows that there was no application. Chasing 220, there are certain venues like Wankhade or Chinnaswamy where you don’t need to panic,” Gautam Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.

At 36/5, had Russell played a big shot which wouldn’t have come off they could have been 40/6: Gautam Gambhir

Further in the interaction, Gambhir reckoned that it was the responsibility of the top-order to lay the foundation for players like Russell, Karthik, and Cummins to play their natural game. The former Indian opener is of the opinion that KKR would have lost against CSK by a margin of 150 or more if the lower-order had lost their wickets quickly.

“They [the lower-order] took the game this close, they could have been all out for 70 or 80 as well. Because the kind of batters Russell and Dinesh Karthik are, they will watch the ball and hit it. At 36-5, had Russell played a big shot which wouldn’t have come off they could have been 40-6. So they could have been beaten by 150-odd runs as well. You need to give platform to guys like Russell, Karthik and Pat Cummins where they can come and explode. Yes they might take you this close, they might win you the game as well. But its actually the responsibility of the top order to give them the foundation,” concluded Gautam Gambhir.

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