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IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals braced for KKR’s Narine-led spin threat on slow Sharjah
IPL 2021: Sunil Narine alone coming in having taken down Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell at one go means the Capitals batters won’t need data analysis to grasp the enormity of the task.
Against an attack led by three accomplished spinners on a slow pitch, it’s likely to be 12 overs of real challenge for Delhi Capitals (DC) batters in their IPL Qualifier 2 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Sharjah Stadium on Wednesday.
Sunil Narine alone coming in having taken down Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell at one go means the Capitals batters won’t need data analysis to grasp the enormity of the task.
On Monday, Narine took 4/21, including a three-over second spell of 3-0-17-3 during which he dismissed the three RCB stars. Then, in a brilliant display with the bat, the left-hander smashed 26 off 15 balls with three sixes in an over, turning the chase on its head.
On other surfaces, the Trinidadian may no longer pose a great threat. But, Sharjah this season is tailor-made for his skill-set. Of the three UAE venues, it is the smallest, but the pitches are so sluggish that getting power behind the shots is a struggle. Kohli and Co were not able to hit a single six.
Against KKR’s troika Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy and Shakib Al Hasan there is no respite. They are KKR’s leading wicket-takers: Chakaravarthy has 16 and Narine 14. Left-arm Shakib has kept things tight in their last three games. In the Eliminator, their 12 overs for 65 runs and four wickets mid-innings proved the difference. DC’s best bet is to target bowling in the remaining eight overs.
DC know how tough it is to break free against KKR’s bowlers at Sharjah. In their league game two weeks ago, the Rishabh Pant-led outfit huffed and puffed to 127/9 in 20 overs. KKR chased it down with three wickets and 10 balls to spare. Narine was the main factor in that game too. After a spell of 4-0-18-2, he hammered a 10-ball 21.
The Qualifier 2 will be KKR’s third straight game at Sharjah. Opener Shubhman Gill declared his team will have the edge over DC. “This was our third match here and coming again here we know what to expect from this wicket. Right now everyone is adjusted to how the pitch plays and the conditions,” Gill said.
Against Narine, most batters in desperation go for the leg-side heave. He is often waiting for that mistake, like with RCB captain Kohli, who was bowled trying to slog to the midwicket.
Analysing Narine’s line of attack, his former KKR captain Gautam Gambhir said in ESPNCricinfo that batters struggle because they feel they can easily play him on the leg side.
“You have to pick Narine because he is so accurate. Probably you can look to target him through the off-side; a lot of teams try to target him on the leg side where he is the most dangerous because he bowls a lot of knuckle balls as well… probably go inside out, even over the bowler’s head. The fields he sets makes teams believe he is an off-spinner, but he is not… You have to open the off-side against Narine, I think against Varun Chakaravarthy as well,” said Gambhir.
Capitals will need a special effort from their batters to neutralise the spin threat. They have good players of spin, which makes it an interesting contest. Opener Shikhar Dhawan has the game and experience, and form and will be a good match-up for Narine. But DC will need him to bat deep for the contest to materialise as KKR captain Eoin Morgan likes to hold Narine back for the middle-overs.
Dhawan got runs in both games against KKR this season. He made 46 during a 132-run match-winning opening partnership with Prithvi Shaw and scored 24 in the return leg. Then there’s Shreyas Iyer and Pant, both with a proven record against spin.
KKR have won six of their last eight games. They have great energy and momentum. On the other hand, DC are the most balanced side with great depth. They have played superb cricket to top the table but were pipped by Chennai Super Kings in the last over of Qualifier 1.
DC coach Ricky Ponting hailed his side on Tuesday. “You are the best team in the competition, you are the best group of players, I know it. If you stick together, you get the result on Wednesday,” the Aussie batting great said in a team pep-talk after the CSK game.
Another key battle will be how the two leaders marshal their troops. Morgan has impressed with expert handling of his spinners while some of Pant’s moves against CSK came under scrutiny. His decision to give the last over to Tom Curran while Kagiso Rabada was available backfired.
Their head-to-head record this season is 1-1.
