What must Kolkata Knight Riders do to win IPL 2020?

When one looks at the squad of the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2020, it is a wonder why they have not won more than two IPL titles. The batting is settled on most fronts, with a brute of a player in Andre Russell coming either in the lower middle order or the lower order to smash the bowling to all parts. The pace department is sorted, with two quick India pacers in Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi getting back-up in the form of USD 15.5 million Pat Cummins and Lockie Ferguson. With Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine in the team, their spin bowling also looks settled.

This then begs the question. Can Dinesh Karthik help Kolkata Knight Riders win IPL 2020? With the resource he has, he can. However, he must ensure that he does not stumble into one major bogey team. He must also ensure that his batting line-up is flexible, something which was a sore point in 2019 when Russell was winning the unwinnable.

Especially getting over the Mumbai Indians bogey

If there is one team that has haunted the Kolkata Knight Riders in their entire history of the IPL, it is the Mumbai Indians. Out of 25 contests, the Mumbai Indians have won 19 out of them. In the last nine IPL games stretching back to 2016, Kolkata Knight Riders have won only one game. If nightmares and bogey teams have a definition, this head-to-head is the ideal definition. Yet, Kolkata Knight Riders won in 2012 and 2014. How? They at least beat Mumbai Indians on both those occasions. In 2012, at the Wankhede stadium, the fortress of the Mumbai Indians, they managed to beat them by 32 runs thanks to Sunil Narine’s 4/15. That win served as the catalyst for Kolkata Knight Riders to win the tournament.

In 2014, the unthinkable happened. Mumbai Indians lost both games to Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi and Cuttack. Kolkata Knight Riders won the first game by 41 runs and the next game by six wickets thanks to Robin Uthappa. This is the only time in 12 editions of IPL that Kolkata Knight Riders have done this on the Mumbai Indians.

The plan is clear. If Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians in both games, they have a huge chance of winning the title. People might point out to the anomalies in 2010 and 2015, but the scenarios were different. In 2010, Kolkata Knight Riders won the second encounter but both teams were out of contention for the playoffs while in 2015, in a play-off situation, Kolkata Knight Riders lost to Mumbai Indians by five runs after winning the first match.

Promote Russell up the order

510 runs in 14 games in IPL 2019 at an average of 56.66 with a colossal strike rate of 204.81. Overall, 64 IPL games and a strike rate of 186.41. These are mind-boggling numbers from Andre Russell, the brute who can make a difference in IPL 2020 for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

David Hussey, the mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders, remarked that if Russell bats higher up the order and plays about 50-60 balls, he might score a double ton. If Kolkata Knight Riders have to bat the opposition out of the contest, then Russell needs to be the constant at No.4. Russell cannot be expected to deliver the goods like he did in 2019 as opposition bowlers would have figured him out. If Russell can play at No.4, then Dinesh Karthik can have plenty of flexibility when it comes to his batting. But, with the Indian batsmen not having much death overs experience in batting, Russell might be kept as a buffer. It is a risk that Karthik will have to take but if Russell’s promotion works, Kolkata Knight Riders’ batting will be even more intimidating.