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IPL 2022, KKR vs RR: Kolkata Knight Riders look to stem the rot

Kolkata Knight Riders. Languishing at the bottom half of the points table, the least the Shreyas Iyer-led side has to do now is to win the last five matches to stay in contention for a playoff berth. But it will take no less than a Herculean effort on their part to rise and deliver after suffering five straight losses. Their job will be particularly more difficult against Rajasthan Royals who are operating as a well-oiled unit. KKR, however, can take heart from the fact that an out-of-form Mumbai Indians managed to beat RR on Saturday. They themselves got close before falling short by just seven runs in the earlier encounter this season against the same rivals.

IPL 2022: Brendon McCullum rues Kolkata Knight Riders batters' inability to counter short balls from Gujarat Titans

IPL 2022, this time an eight-run defeat to Gujarat Titans at the DY Patil Stadium, Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum rued his batters' inability to counter short balls from the Hardik Pandya-led side, adding that the two-time champions will have to go back to the drawing board on countering such tactics. After restricting Gujarat to 156/9, Kolkata were under attack by the pace quartet of Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph and Yash Dayal while Rashid Khan's leg-spin kept them on a tight leash. Consistent usage of short balls, a pocket of weakness in many batters of Kolkata, resulted in them picking key wickets at crucial junctures to win by eight runs and go on top of points table.

IPL 2022: KKR coach Brendon McCullum backs his batters after defeat against Gujarat Titans

Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday, Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) head coach Brendon McCullum backed his batters and said that they have been 'predominantly' good. Needing 29 runs in the last two overs, Gujarat's Alzarri Joseph delivered a heroic 20th over and dismissed Andre Russell for 25-ball 48, to register an eight-run win. "Our batters have been very good so far. We scored 210-odd in the last game. We have got 170-plus batting first (against Sunrisers Hyderabad), our batters have been predominantly very good," said McCullum in a post-match press conference.

IPL 2022, GT vs KKR: Rashid, Shami subdue Russell as Gujarat Titans defend 156 against Kolkata Knight Riders

Russell's all-round show not enough as Hardik leads Gujarat to 8-run winIn the ongoing IPL, Gujarat Titans are consistently finding a way to win. If David Miller and Rashid Khan pulled them out of a hole against Chennai Super Kings in their last match, it was some disciplined bowling that saw them defend a below-par score of 156/9 and beat Kolkata Knight Riders by eight runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.

Aaron Finch's Cheeky Dig At Pat Cummins After Witnessing His Batting Ability In IPL

Pat Cummins had showed his batting prowess when he smashed 56 runs off just 15 balls in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game against Mumbai Indians while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders. With this knock, Cummins equalled the record of KL Rahul for registering the fastest fifty in the history of the cash-rich league. Cummins' KKR and Australia teammate Aaron Finch has taken a cheeky dig at the pacer, revealing why he calls him as "IPL Pat".

IPL 2022, KKR vs GT: Kolkata Knight Riders have task cut out against Gujarat Titans

Kolkata Knight Riders. The side that was highly spoken of by experts in the early part of the tournament after their rollicking start, is suddenly in a state of free fall, suffering a hat-trick of defeats. They will have to rectify a lot of aspects in order to bring their campaign back on track as they face the high-flying Gujarat Titans at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai in an afternoon match on Saturday. It might sound a bit strange, but the experienced two-time IPL champions will start as underdogs against the new entrants who are sitting pretty on the points table, having lost only one of their six matches. With a number of their key players failing to fire, the main challenge for the KKR management is perhaps to find able replacements, which they sadly lack. Going by present form, they could replace Pat Cummins and Varun Chakravarthy. Both their frontline bowlers have not only failed to provide breakthroughs — picking up just four wickets in seven matches — but have been leaking runs in buckets too.

IPL 2022: Finch jumped in excitement after getting a call from KKR as Hales' replacement

Alex Hales. Hales pulled out of the tournament citing bubble fatigue, opening the gate for Finch, who joined KKR at his base price of Rs 1.5 crore. "It's just a great competition to be a part of and I think when you're not here you really miss it.

"Jumped At The Opportunity": Aaron Finch On Getting KKR Call To Replace Alex Hales

Upset after not finding any takers in the IPL mega auction, Australia white-ball captain Aaron Finch "jumped" in excitement on getting a call from Kolkata Knight Riders to join the side as a replacement for Alex Hales, who had pulled out of the tournament citing bubble fatigue, opening the gate for Finch, who joined KKR at his base price of Rs 1.5-crore.

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Brendon Maccullum Sport News

IPL 2022, KKR vs RR: Kolkata Knight Riders look to stem the rot

IPL 2022: Brendon McCullum rues Kolkata Knight Riders batters' inability to counter short balls from Gujarat Titans

IPL 2022: KKR coach Brendon McCullum backs his batters after defeat against Gujarat Titans

IPL 2022, GT vs KKR: Rashid, Shami subdue Russell as Gujarat Titans defend 156 against Kolkata Knight Riders

Aaron Finch's Cheeky Dig At Pat Cummins After Witnessing His Batting Ability In IPL

IPL 2022, KKR vs GT: Kolkata Knight Riders have task cut out against Gujarat Titans

IPL 2022: Finch jumped in excitement after getting a call from KKR as Hales' replacement

"Jumped At The Opportunity": Aaron Finch On Getting KKR Call To Replace Alex Hales