Let’s see if Andre Russell can fire vs SRH bowlers
“One of the first tricks to win at Eden Gardens is to get the crowd on your side.” This was a pearl passed on to me by a stalwart when I took over KKR. I was nervous as I was stepping into the ‘Dada’ shoes of Sourav Ganguly. The tip helped. I am not one of those theatrical types who can play to the crowd. Hence I relied on performance, transparency and a bit of bhadralok (gentleman) approach. I can say that when I left KKR, Eden was almost 90 per cent purple.
Dinesh Karthik has smartly picked up the thread. He too has done well in nurturing the Eden crowd. True to his personality, DK has not been a flashy, in-yourface modern day cricketer. Instead, he has smiled consistently, kept it simple, hasn’t chopped and changed too much.
The combination of DK’s devoted South Indian son-in-law looks and good numbers on the points table has kept Eden crowd loyal. Along the way, he has also given a damn about Shane Warne’s complaints about his seven-minute overs in the last game against RR. What Warne called “annoying” on his twitter feed, I see as gamesmanship by KKR.
For Wednesday’s win, my Man of the Match was DK. At times, captaincy gets ignored as it doesn’t get reflected on the scoreboard. While RR’s flirtations with batting order must have helped KKR but DK was on top of his game. His field settings to Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane were superlative. That passage gave KKR the game.
During one of the after-match parties in 2016, my dear friend Andre Russell wanted me to dance. Honestly, I can’t shake a leg to save my life. I told the big man you win me the next game and I shall do break dance for you. He said, “I will skipper, you wait.” Well, he was Man of the Match in our next game against RCB. Russell kept his word but I’d leave you guessing if I kept mine or not. The way he played on Wednesday, he may still be continuing his promise to KKR fans.
But Russell may not get the same freedom against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It is a tribute to a culture setup by coach Tom Moody and his team that they haven’t missed David Warner at all. For me, Siddharth Kaul has stood out.
He has 19 wickets at an economy of 8 per over, which is incredible. Besides, there is not even a hint of ego in him as he plays support to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan. I see a slight edge for Hyderabad purely on their bowling prowess although they will be playing on a relatively smaller ground in Kolkata which can be difficult to defend.
Hyderabad may have an edge but I am in the purple camp. I promise this time I will break dance if Russell wins the game for KKR.