ABU DHABI: KKR have finally found their mojo with the late inclusion of tear away pacer Lockie Ferguson and they would look to avenge their first leg rout by the star-studded RCB when the two sides clash in the IPL on Wednesday.
It needed KKR nine games, and a change of captaincy, to realise the true potential of the Kiwi pacer and when the Eoin Morgan-led side finally brought him in, he blew away SRH with his relentless pace and variations.
Ferguson made all the difference to KKR’s yet another ordinary show, returning with sensational figures of 3/15 and 2/2 from three balls in Super-Over.
It’s a welcome inclusion for the Morgan-led KKR (10 points) who are placed fourth with five matches left and Ferguson will be their key man to take them to the playoffs at a time when their star Aussie recruit Pat Cummins is not making much of an impact of late.
AB de Villiers’ incredible assault of 73 not out from 33 balls, which had led to an 82-run defeat not many days ago, will be still fresh in their minds.
It will be interesting to see how Morgan uses Ferguson against the likes of De Villiers, RCB skipper Virat Kohli and opener Aaron Finch. KKR are still struggling with their star all-rounder Andre Russell who capped yet another flop show with the bat.
Their go-to man in the last edition, Russell has just 92 runs from nine matches at an average of 11.50.
In spin, it remains to be seen whether they bring in Narine, whose action has been cleared.
Kuldeep Yadav after being benched for eight matches looked decent along with their regular spinner Chakravarthy against SRH.
RCB, on the other hand, are ahead of KKR by two points and occupy the third place in the table after their seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals.
De Villiers has been in fantastic form for them and had single-handedly won the game. Skipper Virat Kohli will also look to convert his starts as they look to brighten their playoff hopes with a double against KKR. (PTI)
