“Till the time you are not in the playoffs, you are not in the playoffs,” said a frustrated-looking Gautam Gambhir, immediately after the Rising Pune Supergiant had chased down 155/8 to win by four wickets in Kolkata on Wednesday.
It was their second loss on the trot. They had been royally thumped by the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday. Before these two losses, they were top of the table and even had a lead over second-placed Mumbai Indians. Now they are in real danger of losing even that second spot.
But, as Gautam Gambhir said, forget the first and second spots. You first need to qualify for the playoffs. And, for all their good form, KKR haven’t done that. Yet.
Can’t afford a repeat of 2015
Flashback to 2015. It was the second week of May. KKR were cruising. They had won seven out of 12 games (one match had been rained out). With 15 points, a playoff was thought to be guaranteed. In fact, there were talks about KKR finishing in the top two.
They didn’t finish in the top. In fact, not even in the top four. KKR failed to qualify for the top four after losing their last two games, remaining stuck on 15 points. Ultimately, it was a campaign which started with a fizz and ended in a whimper.
And if you’re a KKR fan, you can’t help feeling just a little bit scared now. Sure, Gautam Gambhir’s knights are still in a very good spot. They have 14 points from 11 matches. They have three matches left. And yet…
The threat factor minimised
The nagging doubt arises from the way KKR have lost these last two games. On the last two occasions, they’ve been put to the sword and come out without any answers. David Warner and Rahul Tripathi’s onslaughts were different but they put the cat among the pigeons in KKR’s multi-varied bowling line-up. As often, the potency of a threat lies in its perception and once the perception of superiority is pricked, it all falls away.
In this case, Warner first and now Tripathi have put a hole in the perception that KKR have a fearsome bowling line-up. Nathan Coulter-Nile’s reputation precedes him but other batsmen who watched young Tripathi tear into the tall Aussie fast bowler will be far more confident about taking him on when they face him now. The same applies when they face Kuldeep Yadav. If Tripathi can pick his variations so easily and deposit him over mid-wicket so easily, they’ll think, why can’t we?
KKR don’t have an X-factor
Over the last few weeks of this tournament, there have been plenty of talking points. There was Ben Stokes’s sizzling century in Pune’s last match against Gujarat, Jasprit Bumrah’s Super Over heroics for Mumbai, Rashid Khan’s genius for Sunrisers Hyderabad. That leads us to an important question: Who or what is KKR’s X-factor?
Sunil Narine’s opening gambit does not surprise anymore. Chris Woakes is taking wickets but is hardly a player of the caliber of Ben Stokes who can turn a match around for you. Nathan Coulter-Nile could have been one, but even he was picked apart by Tripathi on Thursday. Robin Uthappa has sizzled but now he’s out with a niggle.
KKR have been steady, but here’s the thing – steady doesn’t quite cut it in the IPL. And that’s where KKR are still missing Andre Russell this season, despite their efforts to replace him. Russell offers a force of personality, a player whom the opposition remains fearful of, irrespective of form. Oppositions plan differently for such players. And that’s why, despite still being second in the table, Gautam Gambhir’s unit are missing the X-factor that forces oppositions out of their comfort zone. If Chris Lynn does come back, maybe he could be the answer to their problems.
They face tricky opposition up next. There is the Royal Challengers Bangalore first, out of the competition but led by a desperate, and hence dangerous, Virat Kohli. Kings XI Punjab are next, who have their own Playoff aspirations. And finally, KKR end the season with a meeting against their bogey team, Mumbai Indians.
Suddenly, a place in the playoffs doesn’t look like it’s set in stone.