A total of 142 was never going to be enough for SRH. Manish Pandey, Warner and Saha shone briefly but the total was below par score. KKR did take some new bets but in the end, I think the formula is still working, unless you are scoring a 160+ on these wickets, its going to be uphill all the way
ASHOK’s FIVE reflects on the Match 8 – SRH vs KKR in the IPL 2020. For the two teams that were yet to open their account, it was not unexpected that they would start thinking differently.
KKR puts on some big bets
In the final analysis, I don’t know if their strategy to play with seven bowlers helped, but what it did was to enable skipper Dinesh Karthik to make some quick changes and perhaps unsettle the SRH batmen. They also got their priorities right, asking Cummins to open the bowling. And once he had broken the strong opening pair by getting Bairstow, it was only a matter of time. Cummins returned figures of 1 for 19 in 4 overs.
The Mystery unravels?
KKR also played mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy finally delivered with figures of 1 for 25 in 4 overs. Boasting seven different spin variations, this 4 cr buy has been the best kept mystery in the IPL over the last three seasons. Manjrekar went on to say that he is like a second Narine in the team, but I think we haven’t seen the end of this story.
Where there is a Gill there is a way
It was good to see Gill securing the man of the match title with that 62 ball 70 but more importantly, I liked the self-assured manner in which he went about his work. There was never any doubt in his mind about his role or the strategy of the team
Neatish Shots
Don’t you think about batsmen like Nitish Rana. Here he notched up a 200-strike rate with a 26 in 13 balls. Where do these guys vanish after the IPL? Do they have it in them to play for the country? I think the list of such players in the IPL is actually material. Something to ponder about.
Predictable contests?
The first week has finished and I must confess that this match had me bored for a while. It was good to see Morgan back and score that 40+ but apart from that, there wasn’t much in the match.
Three venues, standard formula. Balanced Leader board. Here onwards though, the teams should settle down and the players come into their own. How much the wickets hold up to the torture of daily matches will be of interest but for sure the league moves into a clear Phase 2 now!
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