Hyderabad favourites, but we’ve got home advantage: Streak
Heath Streak talks a good talk. The former Zimbabwe captain, recently sacked as the head coach of the country’s national team, has every reason to be delighted with the stirring campaign Kolkata Knight Riders have mounted. Four wins on the trot have put the two-time former champions in prime position to make the final, Sunrisers Hyderabad looming as their opponents in Qualifier 2 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday (May 25).
Hyderabad, who have lost four on the bounce after stacking up nine wins in their first 11 matches, have a formidable bowling attack and nearly defended 139 against Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1. Streak acknowledged the opposition bowling group’s expertise, but refused to talk them up.
“You don’t play cricket on paper,” the Kolkata bowling coach said on Thursday evening. “They are a very strong side with good players – they wouldn’t have finished at the top of the table if they weren’t. But we’re coming good at the right time. The balance, form — those are all important factors in cricket. At the end of the day, you can only play one ball at a time, whether you’re facing it or bowling. We’re really trying to focus on not the names we are playing against. We know they’re a good side and we know they’re probably favourites – but we’ve also got the home advantage and home support, which has been unbelievable.”
Streak laid the credit for Kolkata’s revival after an iffy middle at the doorstep of a rejuvenated bowling attack. “I’ve been really pleased, especially with our bowlers, how they’ve put it together,” he insisted. “If we are honest with ourselves, we were probably a little bit disjointed and under-par in the bowling department early on. The batting came to our rescue. So very good to go in with that confidence of having four wins.
“Prasidh (Krishna, the tall paceman) has been outstanding. He’s brought in a new dimension, not just with his pace but his height. For me, the most pleasing thing to see is how much of a thinking cricketer he is. He’s really been smart, he’s using his options and variations well, he’s using the double-bluffs and not allowing the batsman to look at the field and know what ball’s coming next. But of course, even with all of that, you still have to execute your skill, which he’s done and I think his confidence is growing and he’s been fantastic. Yesterday (in the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals), the 18th over was world-class. It reminded me of guys like Jasprit Bumrah, who came on the scene doing exactly what he (Prasidh) has. He’s really making a name of himself this IPL and he’s just another one of those names that IPL has unearthed and really brought to the fore.”
Kolkata have a mix of the old and the new, and the two have come together almost seamlessly in the last few games. “We’ve got a good mix of youth and experience,” Streak agreed. “Obviously, having the likes of Sunil Narine in the spin department, Kuldeep (Yadav) is an emerging player in the Indian side and very confident at the moment. And then we’ve got the youngsters like (Shivam) Mavi and Prasidh who have a point to prove and want to stake a claim going forward. It’s been an enjoyable blend, and the guys are really hungry to succeed. Obviously we had the big blow of Mitchell Starc not being able to come, and it’s hard to replace someone of that calibre. But I think the guys have stood up brilliantly. If you look at our bowlers, there’s no one who’s the same, which is really nice and has also been an added plus for us.
On Dinesh Karthik the captain:
“You have seen how professional he is, he has that never-say-die attitude. He demands that fight and that never-give-up attitude which has been really good. He is passionate. You can see by every boundary and every run we concede, you can see him thinking — the passion that he brings and the support that he gives to the bowlers and the energy. It is his first stint in the IPL as captain, so he also wants to make an impression and he is starting to find his feet and understand the players and what gets the best out of each and every individual player because everyone is an individual in their own right. DK’s been fantastic and hopefully he can continue that for another two games.”
“It is well documented that the teams for whom the domestic Indian players perform well are generally also the ones that perform consistently. The franchise took a position to invest in some young guys. For me, the rewarding this is that guys like Shubman (Gill) and Mavi are probably playing beyond their years in terms of experience that they are showing. If you consider Shubman Gill’s innings last night, he didn’t look as if he was perplexed by the situation. He came in at a very tough time. He was very controlled, very composed and he has done that a few times for us. For a 19, 20-year-old to do that… Shivam Mavi as well has come in. He hasn’t been intimidated, he has bowled some serious deliveries to get rid of some top players. He is going to grow. To know that you have got a youngster like that for the next couple of years is brilliant. Prasidh is a touch older than those guys and he has a bit more experience at the domestic level but he has really stepped up and he has used that experience brilliantly. I have been very happy. And of course obviously our spin trio has been consistently good and that’s a huge advantage for us. It’s brought us back into many games.”
The spin trio of Narine, Kuldeep and Piyush Chawla will have their work cut out against Kane Williamson, the Hyderabad captain and the leading run-getter in the IPL so far. “Kane’s played well at the moment. Sometimes people forget to just bowl good balls at him,” Streak, himself a leading quick bowler in his pomp, said. “He’s one of those players who respects good balls. So it’s about not being intimidated and go away from the plan. He’s like any other good player, but if you bowl enough in the right area you will create chances. At the moment he’s picking length and line really well, so your margins for error are very tight. But our bowlers are executing their skills a bit better. I still feel that in the first 10 overs we can improve, and I think if we can do that in tomorrow’s game while continuing what we’ve been doing in the middle and back end, we can really put them under pressure.”
One of Kolkata’s standout performers has been Andre Russell. The big Jamaican has smashed 313 bruising runs at a strike-rate of 190.85, but also held his own with the ball, working up serious pace on his way to 13 wickets at an acceptable economy of 9.39 for an attacking wicket-taker. “We’ve seen Andre, he has come out and changed the game for us a few times, example that game against Kings (XI Punjab) where he came in and on a pretty good wicket in Indore and on a pretty small ground he turned the game around.
“Andre is like that,” Streak remarked. “There might be days where he might be a little bit expensive but he is also a match-winner, with the bat and with the ball, and that is priceless. To have someone who in their own right could make the side in one department but he is a match-winner with the bat and with the ball, so we are very fortunate, it gives us balance. It gives us the opportunity to be able to have an extra bowler, one extra batter for the skipper to be able to use, so we are very lucky to have someone of his caliber.”
Kolkata have a line-up of heavy-hitters, but they also bat deep and therefore can tide over early collapses, like they did against Rajasthan when they lost their top three inside the Power Play. “That’s something that you have to have and you have to have power at the back-end, not just at the top,” Streak said. “The other night was a good example when CSK pulled off that win (against Hyderabad). Often, if you get to needing 10 runs an over, you still need guys with the ability to clear the rope, that’s been a massive advantage for us. But I also think that for us, one of the good things is that we haven’t tapered off in the middle in terms of our scoring rate.
“We have been consistent throughout the innings. We don’t taper off so much from overs seven to fourteen. We continue to score at a consistent scoring rate. That makes a difference and luckily we have got a good balance of power hitters. The likes of Lynns, Uthappas and Russells and also your more conventional players like (Nitish) Rana, DK (Dinesh Karthik), Shubman Gill and obviously of late we have brought in Javon Searles. Although at No. 8 he doesn’t get to face a lot of balls, he gives the top seven a bit of a cushion knowing that they have got guys behind and that if you need someone who can come in and if you need a 20 off 10 ball type innings, he can do that and often that does happen in T20 cricket.”
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