Captain Karthik faces stiffest test

Captain Karthik faces stiffest test

FPJ News ServiceUpdated: Tuesday, October 06, 2020, 10:37 PM IST
article-image
Dinesh Karthik | Twitter

Abu Dhabi

Former champions Kolkata Knight Riders campaign this season in Indian Premier League has been on rough weather, and the man under fire is their skipper Dinesh Karthik.

They are fifth in the points tally with two wins and equal number of defeats.

The side which is very strong on paper has not delivered much to the names of players in the side.

Dinesh Karthik will have to figure out urgent fixes for his star-studded team's faltering performances when it takes on a resurgent Chennai Super Kings in the IPL here on Wednesday.

KKR acquired England's World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan but the management reposed confidence in Karthik and asked him to lead the side.

However, a few of his baffling decisions apart from his own poor run with the bat, 37 runs from four matches, has put the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman in the line of fire.

Promoting himself ahead of the star duo of Morgan and Andre Russell and preferring Sunil Narine in the opening slot over Big Bash sensation Tom Banton, who has been compared with Kevin Pietersen, has put 35-year-old Karthik in the dock.

Narine has looked woefully out of sorts, managing only 27 runs from four matches at 87.09 strike rate and it's high time that the team brings in the big-hitting English youngster.

KKR have plenty of resources in bowling but Karthik, it seems, has not been able to manage them well and their match against Delhi Capitals could be a case in point.

Pat Cummins' not-so-impressive performance has added to the team's woes.

The pitch in Sharjah is a batsmen's paradise and both teams cantered past the 200-mark but it's the bowlers who made the difference in a close chase.

The pair of Morgan and Rahul Tripathi looked to seal it but Delhi's bowlers strangulated KKR's batting at the death.

Karthik will need to back his bowlers, especially Indian lead spinner Kuldeep Yadav who seems to have been under-utilised and bowled just nine overs after being dropped from the Delhi game.

Chennai, on the other hand, rediscovered some of the form that made them three-time champions. After three losses on the trot, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side would look to make its ascent to top-four from being at the bottom.

Not known to tweak his side much, Dhoni persisted with Shane Watson and the Aussie veteran finally came to form with an unbeaten 83.

Chasing 179 against Kings XI Punjab, Watson and Faf du Plessis made light work of their bowlers in a record 181-run unbeaten stand to seal the chase.

The coming to form of a mis-firing top order is what CSK needed to come out of a miserable start and having done that, they would certainly look favourites against a struggling KKR.

Teams (from)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (C), Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarthy, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik, Ali Khan.

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C), M Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Josh Hazlewood, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, N Jagadeesan, KM Asif, Monu Kumar, R Sai Kishore, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Karn Sharma.

RECENT STORIES

Wimbledon 2025: Jannik Sinner Displays Pure Class, Carries Grigor Dimitrov's Bags Off Court After He...

Wimbledon 2025: Jannik Sinner Displays Pure Class, Carries Grigor Dimitrov's Bags Off Court After He...

Wimbledon 2025: Virat Kohli Hails Novak Djokovic As 'Gladiator' In Appreciation Post, Serbian...

Wimbledon 2025: Virat Kohli Hails Novak Djokovic As 'Gladiator' In Appreciation Post, Serbian...

WWE RAW Results: Goldberg Attacks Gunther, LA Knight Executes Surprise BFT On Seth Rollins

WWE RAW Results: Goldberg Attacks Gunther, LA Knight Executes Surprise BFT On Seth Rollins

FIR Filed Against RCB Pacer Yash Dayal, Could Face Upto 10 Years Imprisonment In Sexual Harassment...

FIR Filed Against RCB Pacer Yash Dayal, Could Face Upto 10 Years Imprisonment In Sexual Harassment...

35 Shot Rally! Novak Djokovic & Alex de Minaur Engage In Exciting Battle In Wimbledon 2025 Round Of...

35 Shot Rally! Novak Djokovic & Alex de Minaur Engage In Exciting Battle In Wimbledon 2025 Round Of...