Eleven matches. Eight defeats. Kolkata Knight Riders, defending champions and regarded as one of the strongest teams in the league, are almost certifiably out of IPL 6. The stage has been reached where it is almost easier to say "insert previous match comments here" in describing how KKR have stumbled through IPL 6 like zombies, walking in circles with their groans getting louder as their hunger for success increases. Unfortunately for KKR fans, there has been no easy prey for this team.
It was tough to envision this scenario before the season began. Kolkata are led by Gautam Gambhir, India's Test and ODI opener and who shaped their dramatic upwards swing in 2011 and captained them to IPL glory in 2012. They have at No.3 one of the greatest allrounders ever in Jacques Kallis. Coaching the bowlers and at their disposal as strike bowler is Brett Lee, a great fast bowler with 718 international wickets to his credit. Then there is Sunil Narine, the all-sorts Trinidadian spinner who was a huge factor in Kolkata's run to the title with 25 wickets an average of 13.50 and economy rate of 5.47. There are also Eoin Morgan, Brendon McCullum, Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary. In Rajat Bhatia and Laxmi Ratan Shukla KKR have two of the best domestic stalwarts suited for the T20 format. Despite this, the team has failed to fire collectively.
A cursory eye over the stats for IPL 6 highlights a major part of the
12:20 PM, May 08, 2013
Jaipur: Twenty20 cricket is heavily loaded in the favour of batsmen but Mushtaq Ahmed reckons that the spinners of late have been able to influence the outcome of the matches in the shortest format. Ahmed, one of the best leg-spinners the game has seen, said the best thing about spinners is that they have a lot of variety to attack the batsmen. "A lot of teams are winning the matches...
01:28 AM, May 07, 2013
Kolkata: While he relished the big wicket of Sachin Tendulkar on the senior batsman's 40th birthday, Kolkata Knight Riders mystery spinner Sunil Narine admits that the defending champions will have to get their acts together quickly to keep alive their hopes in IPL 6. Narine came out victorious in the much-anticipated battle against Tendulkar on Wednesday by crashing through the senior batsman's gate with a classic off-spin delivery, but eventually...
01:04 PM, Apr 25, 2013
This is not something that the team management of Kolkata Knight Riders had expected when they began their defence of the IPL title. Though they started their campaign with a win, they are in the middle of an extremely bad phase - losing five of their next six matches. And in spite of having world class limited-over spinner in the form of Sunil Narine, they are not ending up in...
11:33 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Mumbai Indians' opener Dwayne Smith, who lead his team to victory against Kolkata with a match winning knock of 62 in 47 balls at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday said that he wanted to play out Sunil Narine as he was in a wicket-taking form and wanted to get himself in and pick up the pace after judging the nature of the track. Chasing a tricky 160 to win on...
10:11 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Kolkata: Observing that 160 was a defendable target, Kolkata Knight Riders' spinner Sunil Narine Wednesday rued the absence of all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who could not turn up to bowl after getting injured while batting against Mumbai Indians in their IPL encounter at the Eden Gardens here. "The target of 160 was defendable but we fumbled at the end. Kallis is a world class bowler and his absence badly hurt our...
02:16 AM, Apr 25, 2013
The fight for getting the Purple cap this season in the Indian Premier League seems to be getting intense with every passing day. Legspinner Amit Mishra got hold of the Purple Cap on Friday when he also became the highest wicket taker in IPL, and within 24 hours it was overtaken by Royal Challengers Bangalore's best bowler this season Vinay Kumar. The Karnataka pacer now has 12 wickets this season,...
09:26 AM, Apr 21, 2013
Mohali: Kolkata Knight Riders' Sunile Narine registered the first hat-trick of IPL 6 when he sent back Kings XI Punjab's batsmen David Hussey, Azhar Mahmood and Gurkeerat Mann on Monday at the PCA stadium, but another hat-trick in the same match by KKR captain Gautam Gambhir got little attention. En route to the second spot in the list of highest run-scorers this season, Gambhir scored his third consecutive half-century, albeit...
10:17 AM, Apr 17, 2013
Live updates from Game 8 of the IPL 6 season between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. After notching up victories in their tournament openers, both Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals will be keen to extend their winning streak. Shane Watson is fit and will be part of the playing XI in all likelihood. While defending champions KKR beat Delhi Daredevils comprehensively by...
07:20 PM, Apr 08, 2013
Jaipur: After notching up victories in their tournament openers, both Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals will be keen to extend their winning streak when the two teams lock horns in their IPL 6 match here on Monday. While defending champions KKR beat Delhi Daredevils comprehensively by six wickets in a low-scoring match in the tournament opener, Rajasthan prevailed in a five-run win over the same opponents in their first...
12:26 AM, Apr 08, 2013
Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) off-spinner Sunil Narine, who has tormented batsmen with his variety and guile in the Indian Premier League (IPL), rates dashing Delhi Daredevils (DD) opener Virender Sehwag as the most dangerous batsman he has bowled to. "Sehwag by far is the most dangerous batsman I have bowled to. No matter what the situation is, he will always go after the bowling, which makes him the most...
06:04 PM, Apr 05, 2013
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders exerted their muscle over a depleted Delhi Daredevils in the IPL six opener at Eden Gardens on Wednesday, chasing a target of 129 with six wickets and eight deliveries to spare. Delhi lost their way following a brisk recovery for the second wicket, with Sunil Narine living up to his IPL 5 billing with four wickets against a confused Delhi batting order. Only Mahela Jayawardene...
11:34 PM, Apr 03, 2013
In 2012, scandals involving corruption, violence and drugs dominated off-field coverage of the IPL. This season, we can all do without that. ...
07:59 AM, Apr 02, 2013
Narine had played a stellar role in KKR's maiden IPL championship, taking 24 wickets from 15 games. ...
08:00 PM, Apr 01, 2013
That this format belonged to the batsmen and that bowlers would be butchered was a common notion towards the IPL and T20s in general a few years ago. But the bowlers, particularly those of the spinning variety, have been able to hold their own in the middle of the pandemonium and have done rather well. The likes of Lasith Malinga and Sunil Narine have been a revelation in this format...
04:28 PM, Mar 30, 2013
Windies have bolstered the squad including Samuels and Gayle whereas Zimbabwe will be banking on the batting form of their top-order. ...
09:17 PM, Mar 11, 2013
Fast bowlers Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards were also not named in a 13-man squad for the first match against Zimbabwe next week. ...
11:36 AM, Mar 09, 2013
Before the start of the five-match series West Indian captain Darren Sammy spoke of how he believed his team could achieve a rare ODI trophy. Now, after two consecutive defeats, Sammy finds West Indies needing to win the third match in Canberra on Wednesday to keep the series alive. ...
09:00 AM, Feb 05, 2013
From subtle changes of pace to slinging yorkers and bamboozling spin, we pick ten stellar ODI bowling performances of the year. ...
09:20 AM, Dec 31, 2012
He has taken 16 wickets from 13 T20s in his fledgling international career. ...
12:22 PM, Dec 30, 2012
