KKR tide over choppy waters to put campaign back on track

The early promise shown by Kolkata Knight Riders is now a distant memory. The start they had, where they won three out of their first four matches, now stands nullified. With five consecutive losses, there is a feeling that it's already too late for the franchise. While they are still in the hunt, their task is much more harder than some of the better-placed sides.

As they turned up at the Wankhede stadium to take on Rajasthan Royals, KKR were one loss short of matching their 2019 record of six consecutive losses. RR had, in fact, left KKR with some scars after taking their bowlers for 217 in the previous encounter. Brendon McCullum, on that evening, was left rueing silly mistakes. KKR, after all, had fallen just short by seven runs but also had the chase in their grasp at one point.

On Monday (May 2), McCullum wore a smile. The relief all too visible. Just when it seemed there were no answers to their problems, KKR had managed to pull off a seven-wicket win with ease. Does the win mean the KKR campaign is back on track? Probably not. So why is it significant? Because the win ignites belief.

After their loss against RR, Aaron Finch, in his dressing room address, had urged the players to stick together. He stressed it was crucial that the players backed each other. While the execution may not have been consistent on the field, the messaging off the park has been pretty consistent. 'Back your peers', 'smile on the face', 'don't care about mistakes as long as you are trying to improve', 'communicate', 'be vulnerable with one other' the players are constantly being told.

With losses mounting to five, the players were likely to deviate from what was being asked of them. But they held it together. In his post-match press conference, Nitish Rana acknowledged that doubts had started to creep in. But what stood out was the lengths he went to praise and lift the other players. He spoke at length on how crucial Rinku Singh's performance was and how much it means to the batter, who has had limited opportunities with the franchise.

"When you lose, you look at things differently," Rana said. "We also have doubts. The way we've won today, even without the contribution of big players. One new player, who has been playing in IPL on and off for the last five years, the way he batted shows that the eleven is now set. In our eyes, we've found our best eleven."

McCullum too was full of praise for his players as they tried to navigate the choppy waters. "Five (losses) on the bounce is no easy feat to pull yourselves out of," he started. "I just have to compliment all the guys within the group. I know it's the first year for all the guys in this team but the guys have stuck really close and we sort of been pretty realistic that we could have easily been on the other side of two or three of those games in a slightly different scenario. It's not easy to keep the faith sometimes but the boys are able to do it and tonight was a fantastic performance from a couple of guys who are very good friends in particular. Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh, they will grow so much from that performance."

Several issues have plagued KKR this season. Varun Chakravarthy and Venkatesh Iyer - their two retained players - not only lost form but also the confidence. Their opening partnerships haven't clicked while ill-timed niggles have forced the think tank to chop and change the eleven more than they would have liked. "Selection is really important for me," McCullum said. "I prefer to give guys one or two games more than what they probably anticipate themselves. We had guys who arrived late, a couple of injuries, a couple of guys who lost form and confidence as well. So there's a myriad of reasons why we've had to make as many changes as we've had.

"Sometimes it doesn't always work. It's certainly not my way to keep chopping and changing, but sometimes you have to make the calls that you think are right. (Opening) certainly, an area where we need to tidy up or stumble on the right combination. We've been really good from overs 7 to 20 compared to the top teams and we've just been a little off in the powerplay."

Having arrested the slump, there are plenty of reasons why KKR should believe that the tough part is over. Having said that, there are glaring concerns that still need some quick fixes. And who knows, another win and things will once again start looking drastically better.