With Moeen Ali, KKR find a new way to win with spin
Contain and confound was the basis of his partnership with Varun Chakravarthy, said the former England off-spinner after his debut for the Knights
Guwahati: The batting didn’t come off, the run-out is not something he would like to be reminded of but in Moeen Ali Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have found another way to win with spin. With Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, they attack from both ends. Without one of them, KKR showed they can confound and contain and be equally effective.
“I am used to bowling with somebody who is better than me and has more mystery. So, my job is to bowl as tight as I can and, hopefully, pressure will be built from the other end for that person to get wickets,” said Ali after returning figures of 2/23 in four overs as KKR beat Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets here on Wednesday.
Contain Ali did, being hit for only one boundary when Dhruv Jurel whipped a flatter delivery through the leg-side in the last over of his spell. “It helps that I think like a batter”, he said.
In the process, the former England all-rounder became the right foil to Chakravarthy. Both took two wickets each, Chakravarthy being even more parsimonious conceding 17 runs in his four overs, six less than Ali. RR found facing them as difficult as getting in and out of the stadium is due to detours and an inadequate public transport network.
“Varun is bowling outstandingly and we know and he has improved so much over the last couple of years. So, it was brilliant to be bowling with someone like that,” said Ali at the post-match media conference.
KKR’s spinners were more persistent in their lengths than RR’s Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theksana, said Sairaj Bahutule, the home team’s spin bowling coach. “Definitely, there was a lot of purchase for the spinners but, at times, I thought, they were short.”
“I think they (Ali and Chakravarthy) bowled tighter lines and lengths and they were very persistent with those areas,” said Bahutule explaining why KKR’s slow bowlers made a greater impact.
The occasional short ball made the difference between a good over and one where RR leaked “four extra runs,” said Bahutule. There was one more difference, as per Ali. Teams that have won multiple IPL titles know what they are doing, said the off-spinner. “Whereas teams that have not won it are still searching for how they will go about things.” It was the same at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with whom Ali has two titles. Champions mentality, he called it.
After the heavy defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore at Eden on Saturday, KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane said there was no need to panic. Rahane had said he would keep backing players and had Narine not been unwell, KKR would have fielded the same 11 on Wednesday
Replacing Narine could have been an be an onerous task especially after Ali said he had been told he would play not before Wednesday morning. “Sunil is a big miss for us but I wasn’t so nervous because I am a bit older and have made debuts for other teams.” Apart from CSK and KKR, Ali, bought by KKR for his base price ₹2 crore, has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Having retired from international cricket, Ali, 37, said he still plays regularly “to stay on top of his game.” It showed not just in how he bowled but also in the way he fielded in the ring. The victory was the result of KKR bowlers “never letting them get ahead of the game which then made our batting a bit easier. And Quinny playing the way he did was just outstanding.”
Quinton de Kock, who missed his third IPL hundred by three runs, too had used his experience, said Ali. “Against Jofra (Archer), I couldn’t put bat on it and he made it look like he was bowling quite slow. He is one of the best in the world and has been for some time.”
Like Ali, De Kock has left international cricket. Along with Ravichandran Ashwin and Faf du Plessis, they have all made an early impact this season.
