Kolkata Knight Riders turned up in IPL 2018 with a relatively new, young and unexperienced side.
The two-time champions KKR went for an overhaul this seasom releasing captain Gautam Gambhir, Umesh Yadav, Shakib al Hasan, Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan among others.
However, it seems to have worked rather well for them. While Dinesh Karthik has emerged as leader and their best finisher, old hands Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa and Sunil Narine have also performed well.
With new stars like Prasidh Krishna, Nitish Rana, Shubhman Gill and Shivam Mavi- it seems KKR are set up well for the future.
Batting
Dinesh Karthik seems to have turned a new leaf when it comes to finishing games. He scored 438 runs and finished most matches for his side.
He was well supported by the experienced Chris Lynn (425 runs) and Andre Russell (264). Sunil Narine (327) was again a superstar at the top. They have also uncovered new talents in the form of Shubman Gill (145 runs) and Nitish Rana (279 runs).
Robin Uthappa had an underwhelming IPL 2018 but he will be very crucial to the side in their future endavours.
Bowling
Kolkata lost Mitchell Starc just before IPL 2018 began. However, they gave youngsters like Shivam Mavi and Prasidh Krishna an opportunity to make the stage their own.
Sunil Narine (16 wickets), Kuldeep Yadav (14 wickets) and and Piyush Chawla (13 wickets) ensured that the inexperience in the side didn’t hurt the team.
However, Mitchell Johnson's poor form was a big letdown for them. Their bowling was inconsistent and they would hope do better next year.
Report Card
It was good enough season for a side that is going thorugh a massive rebuilding process. The positives for KKR outnumbered the negatives. They have uncovered new talents and kept some very useful old ones. They will be more cohesive unit next year and may challenge for the title.
They deserved their third-place finish.
Score
8/10
