Mavi, Nagarkoti follow in Cummins footsteps to tame Royals

It was a matter of faith paying off for the Kolkata Knight Riders. It was two years in the making, but only a matter of time, given the talent the pace duo of Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti possessed. Besides, with a world-class pacer like Pat Cummins taking them under his wing, it was bound to have done wonders for them.

Up against a destructive Rajasthan Royals' top order comprising of Steven Smith, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson, Mavi kept his calm when he was brought into the attack in just the third over of the game with Rajasthan chasing 175. Cummins had already gained a one-up on Smith, who tried to slog from the first ball he faced. It was very unlike Smith, but with five superb deliveries with near-misses, he fell on the final one of the second over that handed KKR an early advantage. They smelt blood and they didn't relent thereafter.

Mavi was mentally prepared for a flatter wicket, but when he saw the wicket seaming a little bit early on, he bowled on a length with good pace, tossing in the shorter ones to mix it up and stuck to the plan. He was rewarded soon enough, more so for the lack of adaptability from RR's batsmen on a wicket that was stopping a little bit, who were still perhaps recovering from their Sharjah hangover.

Cummins at the other end, bowled through the powerplay with his Test-match line and lengths, as he did against Sunrisers Hyderabad, as KKR stuck to a working plan. Although RR's batsmen tried to throw him off his lengths by attempting to launch an attack, Buttler even using his pace to dispatch a ramp for six, it was all they could get with Cummins conceding only 13 in three overs. Mavi and Cummins bowled five of the first six overs for 2-24.

Buttler was still in the middle and was finding his feet; he was key if RR had to make a chase out of it. Plan or not, Mavi tossed up a shorter one that Buttler would've got hold of more often than not, but it went straight to third man as KKR were in the driver's seat without breaking a sweat; in three overs, Mavi had 2-13 with game-changing wickets in his pocket.

Pace was persisted through with Nagarkoti replacing Cummins. He bowled a short one to start but incredibly Robin Uthappa's pull landed straight in the hand of deep backward square leg. He struck first ball for his maiden IPL wicket and then picked up Riyan Parag in the same over, as the match was half-won for KKR within ten overs - nine of which were from pacers on a wicket that was touted to have some purchase for the spinners.

"I think just having a player like Cummins around is a confidence booster," Dinesh Karthik said after KKR's 37-run win. "He's just so good with the young kids, and he's great to have around the team too...just the way he smiles, his body language, he's just such a pleasure to have around. I wish all fast bowlers all around the world (have such help), Cummins is an extraordinary role model. Not only on the field, but even off it, he's wonderful to have around.

"The boys are learning a lot from him. The fact that he's interacting with all these boys not only on the field, but making a genuine effort off the field as well makes a massive difference and in my eyes he's just going up the ladder in the way he's behaving and the way he's with the young boys."

KKR would've taken a leaf out of the Rajasthan innings, watching Jofra Archer operate upfront. Not having had opened the bowling in Sharjah against Punjab, he bowled just the one over to kick things off, playing to his strengths by cranking up the pace. He bowled close to the 150 mark consistently in the opening over but was kept for the Andre Russell face-off.

He was brought back when RR needed a wicket with Shubman Gill going great guns. With a length delivery of 140 kmph that angled into the opener, he took a return catch to give his side the breakthrough. He rattled Russell, Karthik and Morgan too with short balls. After getting KKR's skipper Karthik, he could've had his England skipper too had Tom Curran held on to one in the deep. The fastest he bowled on the day was 152, giving away just four in his first three overs, finishing with 2-18 in one of the finest T20 spells.

Rajasthan and Kolkata were playing their first game in Dubai; it was always going to come down to the team that adapted to the conditions better that would take honours - as KKR did, sticking to their plans and executing them right. They took all the chances that came their way and banked on their vast bowling resources to get them over the line. In the end, it came down to the first ten overs that were dominated by the pacers that made the difference.

Acquired by KKR in 2018, injuries never gave Mavi or Nagarkoti much opportunity to validate the franchise's belief in them. On Wednesday (September 30), the pair was handed the responsibility to get RR's top order early. And they delivered. The pace they were hitting, their attacking mindset, and the four wickets they shared, will give them a lot of confidence going ahead.

"Just to see both these boys playing for us, representing our franchise...the fact that we've stuck with them...just to see them out there makes me happy. They're bowling well, fielding well. I've been wanting to see them since the time they played the World Cup," said Karthik.

Before KKR could take the field in the second innings, Cummins was at the helm of the pep talk. Whatever he said to the side seemed to work wonders, with him leading from the front once again - a reflection of his role in a KKR set-up that possesses quite a few future stars.