IPL 2020: KKR vs DC Game Plan 2 – Promote Tom Banton and bat Gill in the middle-order?

The 42nd match of the IPL 2020 tournament between the blockbuster teams, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals, could all be about match-ups. Here, we take a look at a key game plan that could play a role in the 42nd game of IPL 2020 – KKR vs DC.

KKR vs DC: Will KKR use their batting resources effectively?

In the last game against RCB, KKR suffered a pretty bad day in the office as they scored only 84/8 off 20 overs after being reduced to 3/3 under three overs. There is no point in saying that this was unexpected even though they were up against a fiery RCB bowling attack. The writing was already on the wall.

Rahul Tripathi faded away after his ‘Man of the Match’ worthy knock against CSK while Nitish Rana and the ex-skipper Dinesh Karthik have largely struggled too. The young Shubman Gill has scored runs but he has batted with a strike-rate that is hardly going to bother opposition teams. The current skipper Eoin Morgan has also looked pedestrian so far when it comes to his strike-rate. With his team down and out, Morgan made 30 off 34 balls to take KKR to a total of 84/8 but it was never going to be enough.

The lack of alternative options except someone like Rinku Singh and Siddhesh Lad has meant that KKR’s best possible remedy may be to utilize their resources in a better way. They do have the services of a flexible Tim Seifert who replaced Ali Khan in the squad but it remains to be seen whether KKR go in that direction.

ALSO READ: KKR vs DC: Game Plan 1 – Ferguson vs Dhawan and Iyer

For starters, KKR could promote Tom Banton to open the innings if he is picked again instead of the injured Andre Russell/Sunil Narine. Shubman Gill hasn’t looked exactly flustered against pace but his scoring rate isn’t ideal for the Powerplay. With the fielders in the circle, Banton and Tripathi could utilize the first six overs to KKR’s advantage. Gill would also be a very good option in the middle-order as he is the most technically sound KKR batsman against spin bowling.

Another important move would be for Eoin Morgan to come ahead of Dinesh Karthik. Morgan is used to batting at No.4 or 5 by playing there for England but in the previous match against RCB, he came as low as No.6. Morgan would be better suited to building the innings for KKR while Dinesh Karthik can do his usual job of finishing.

The numbers also support this move as there is clear difference in Karthik’s performance according to his time of arrival at the crease. The keeper-batsman averages under 30 and strikes at 125.71 whenever he has come to the crease before 10 overs. The statistics improve significantly when he has batted after 10 overs.

Ideally, KKR will hope that both Andre Russell and Sunil Narine come back to strengthen the batting but without them, the 2-time IPL champions need to be smart in utilising their resources. It won’t be tough as Delhi have also been superb with the ball. They have been especially lethal during the Powerplay overs which doesn’t augur well for KKR. KKR will heave a huge sigh of relief if Kagiso Rabada is rested for this game just like Anrich Nortje was for the previous match against KXIP.