Kolkata Knight Riders campaign in Vivo IPL season 11 so far has been nothing less than a roller-coaster ride. While we had a great start to the season with a comfortable win over Royal Challengers Bangalore, we faced two defeats in a row against Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. A thumping win over Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals brought our campaign back on track.
Despite a loss against Kings XI Punjab in our last match, here are a few key numbers that can boost our Knights as we progress for our upcoming battles.
Spin-trio plus ONE
After a lot of thought behind bowling combination, KKR went with three specialist frontline spinners. The trio of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav didn't disappoint and proved themselves. Along with Nitish Rana's 4 scalps (two each against RCB and RR), our Knights lead the table for most number of wickets by spinners in IPL 2018.
Consistent with the bat
Apart from the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, our batsmen have clicked in all the other five matched they've played. They have the most number of batsmen (5) who have scored over 150 runs so far in the IPL 2018.
Team |
No. of batsman with 150+ runs |
KKR |
5 |
RCB |
4 |
CSK |
3 |
KXIP |
3 |
DD & MI |
2 |
Nitish Rana - The Anchor of the Ship
Nitish Rana didn't add much to his tally against Kings XI Punjab, but has shown good promise with the bat and has chipped in with the ball as well. Rana has 165 runs to his name and fans will hope that he can put up a good show in his hometown against Delhi Daredevils on April 27.
Russell got this!
Andre Russell is a go-to man for his skipper, be it with the bat or with the ball. While he's yet to make a difference with the bowl, he's the only player to score 20+ runs in an over twice in this season of VIVO IPL. Dre Russ has a strike rate of 229.57 and has scored 163 runs with a best of 88*(36 balls) against CSK.
Our Knights will back themselves up and have their eyes to add to their numbers as they face Delhi Daredevils in Delhi on Friday, April 27.