But as the season progressed, the difference between the two teams became more and more apparent. SRH have batted with lightning intent although they have reason to temper their approach: they arguably have the most dangerous top order in the competition, but on days when they lose early wickets, personnel issues and depth can harm them.
KKR did not have these problems. Their team is designed to allow their hitters to throw aside any trace of caution. As they consolidated their place at the top of the table, moving further and further away from the chasing pack, it became increasingly clear that they had built a team this close to bombproof than any other can be in inconstancy. world of T20.
None of this happened overnight, as it is the culmination of a long-term project.
It’s still the same thing, but better
KKR finished seventh in the table in IPL 2022 and 2023. In both seasons, they gave the feeling of a team trying to play idealistically without having the resources to achieve it consistently. They were, to put it simply, an inferior version of what the SSR was in 2024.
Throughout this auction cycle – and even the previous one, when Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik led them – KKR has displayed distinctly high intent. They have the highest offensive shooting percentage (45.08)* of any team this season, and they’ve only picked up where they left off in 2022 and 2023. Their offensive shooting percentage over these two seasons (41.50) was also the best of the year. the league. Delhi Capitals and SRH have batted like KKR this season, but it is a relatively new way of playing for both teams. This is not the case for KKR.
What has changed for KKR between 2022-23 and 2024 is the feeling of structure and stability that their formations exude.
KKR was also fortunate that almost all of its middle-order batters returned to form at some point during the season. But the way their squad is structured has allowed them to stick to one set of players and absorb the setbacks.
When you play in a lineup with that kind of depth, you have no reason to hold back.
For all the intentions shown by KKR in 2022 and 2023, there were obvious weaknesses in their roster. A number of bowling teams exploited their vulnerability to short balls racing through their lineout. Take this chase of 177 against Lucknow Super Giants on a bouncing Pune deck in 2022: Mohsin Khan, Dushmantha Chameera, Avesh Khan and Jason Holder destroyed their top order in a spell of concerted short bowling and reduced them to 25 for 4 in 6.5 overs. .
This was just an extreme example of KKR’s frailties. Against short and good length balls from fast bowlers, they had the worst score rate (7.67) and worst average (17.47) of any team in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
This season, however, KKR has done much better. They have the third-best scoring rate (9.76) of any team against this type of bowling and the fifth-best average (29.00).
This has of course helped KKR, as they have played the bulk of their matches on pitches with real bounce, but if this is how T20 goes, they are better equipped than most teams to take advantage.
KKR have used just three No.3s this season, usually either Venkatesh (six innings) or Angkrish Raghuvanshi (seven). Shreyas has been their number 4 most often (10 out of 14 innings), but they have been much less rigid about who bats at number 5 (Venkatesh, Shreyas and Rinku Singh have all played that position at least three times). times, No. 6 (usually Rinku or Russell) and No. 7 (Ramandeep seven times, and Rinku and Venkatesh a total of five times).
You may have spotted the pattern: KKR tried to have left-right pairs in the crease as much as possible. Among all the right-handed and left-handed hitters they have, they have also put together a good mix of pace hitters and spin hitters. Ramandeep, Russell, Salt, Narine, Venkatesh, Raghuvanshi and Rinku have all scored over 95 runs against pace this season with over 150 strike rates, while Narine and Shreyas have done the same against spin, with Russell, Salt and Ramandeep also. at more than 140 without reaching the analysis threshold.
So in most cases KKR was able to send the right batter for the situation and match at hand.
Get the right bowling
This section deserves a standalone analysis because KKR, for all they have done with the bat, have arguably also been the best bowling team in this IPL. They have the best collective average (22.94) of any team, and the third best economy rate (9.39), which is particularly notable because unlike the two teams who did better than them, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, KKR have played most of their home matches at one of the most batting-friendly venues this season.
Most of them have experienced fluctuations in form, with Starc and Varun in particular starting the season slowly. But KKR didn’t shift or shift even when the bowlers had bad days, unless they brought in Anukul Roy or Suyash Sharma when they felt the need for an extra spin option.
This is true not only for Starc but also for the rest of the KKR line-up. During this three-year cycle, KKR established a clear philosophy and tried to find a combination of players that could make it work. It took a while to come together, but it has now, to exciting effect.
*All statistics mentioned in this article are correct as of May 25, 2024 and do not include figures from the final.
Karthik Krishnaswamy is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
