RR vs KKR, IPL 2021: India and Kolkata Knight Riders opener Shubman Gill hasn’t been at his best. In IPL 2021, he has scored 80 runs from five innings, failing to provide KKR with the start they want. Against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, he was off-colour once again, scoring just 11 off 19 balls as KKR added only 25 runs in the powerplay. The lack of runs trickled down to the lower order as KKR could only post 133, losing the match by 6 wickets. However, KKR coach David Hussey has backed out-of-form Shubman Gill, saying his class is permanent will end up scoring the most runs in IPL 2021.
“Well, he’s a star player. That’s one thing. I do know that he took the Test arena by storm in Australia. The way he works on his game, in the nets, he’s very specific. He has a great work ethic. So, all I can say is probably that form will come and go. But classes are always permanent. He’s one class individual off the field, but also an exceptionally talented player on the field. Mark my words, I think he would be one of the highest-scoring batsmen by the end of the tournament. He is an absolute class act,” David Hussey said at the post-match press conference on Saturday.
RR vs KKR, IPL 2021: KKR coach David Hussey backs struggling Shubman Gill, says, ‘class is permanent’
RR vs KKR, IPL 2021: ‘We did not play our brand of cricket,’ David Hussey says
The primary reason behind KKR’s modest total at the Wankhede Stadium was batsmen struggling to cope up against Rajasthan Royals bowlers. Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman bowled fantastic spells as Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill both struggled. Rahul Tripathi did score 26-ball 36 to help ease the pressure but quick wickets did not help the cause.
“It wasn’t a deliberate plan to go that slow, I guess. But full credit to Rajasthan Royals bowlers. They didn’t allow us to play Kolkata Knight Riders cricket upfront. Under coach Brendon McCullum, we generally like to play with a lot of freedom, take the game on and provide a highly entertaining game of cricket. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that tonight. But we’ve got a few days to turn around very quickly in the next game against Punjab in a few days’ time,” David Hussey said.
Another mystery was Andre Russell batting at No 7 instead of No 5 where he could accelerate the scoring after smashing 22-ball 54 in the last match. Russell came to bat with four overs left and could not do much.
“It’s a tough one really. We just needed to get a partnership going at that stage when Andre was ready to come in next and tries probably his scintillating best and maybe three or four overs to go where he can hit 30 or 40 runs off about 15 balls. In a perfect world, he can go number three and can make 200, I guess, but it wasn’t a debate tonight. Maybe, we will look at all strategies when it comes to batting going forward. We play Punjab in a couple of days’ times and everything’s on the table,” David Hussey said.
RR vs KKR, IPL 2021: Hussey provides an update on Lockie Ferguson
Kolkata Knight Riders are also missing a quality bowler in Lockie Ferguson. With Wankhede tends to assist seamers more than spinners, Ferguson would have been a valuable player in the playing XI alongside Pat Cummins. His batting would have provided further depth as well. But he is yet to get a game in IPL 2021. In five matches that he played last season, he bagged six wickets. Hussey said he would be considered in the upcoming matches.
“Lockie Ferguson is probably at the peak of his pals. He’s a class act, an excellent bowler for New Zealand. He played particularly well for Kolkata last year in Abu Dhabi and in Dubai and Sharjah for that matter as well. He’s a handy depth, but he’s also going to push for selection over the remaining games. I think everyone’s on the table in terms of selection, but Brendan’s got some tough decisions to make. Yeah, we’re going to start winning some games. All the total will be over and I think everything will be discussed,” David Hussey said.
As for mood in the dressing room, Hussey said the players are still confident in turning things around. “Well, the dressing rooms always are of highest morale, lots of confidence in there. The talent amongst the players is I think second to none. We just need to go out and deliver on the cricket field actually. But all the boys have each other’s backs. They trust each other. They believe in each other. We just going to tinker with a few little issues out in the field. Once we do that, I think you’ll find we’ll get on a little bit of a run and win a few games. And, you never know you hit the finals of the back end of the series and watch out any team that’s coming up against the Kolkata Knight Riders,” Hussey signed off.
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