Why KKR has been losing from close Quarters?

Many must be wondering about the last two losses KKR saw from perfectly winning positions. Against RCB, they not only couldn’t defend a very defendable target of 173, but also lost from a position when RCB had to score 52 off the last 26 balls. Similarly, today against the Chargers, they couldn’t defend a target of 160 and they lost despite the fact that chargers needed 33 off the last three overs with two new batsmen at the crease. What about the last over when they needed to defend 20 runs?

A loss for KKR is no longer news even for the die hard KKR fan because they have been loosing anyways. However the manner in which they have lost the last two games must have baffled many a KRR fans. I mean, it is hard to lose from those comfortable winning positions even in a Twenty20 game when you almost have the game in your hand and the only thing that you needed was probably to keep calm and follow the basics. I mean, it requires something on the part of the bowlers to leak so many runs consistently with ease. I had heard about team’s finding different heroes to win the games, but finding “heroes” (Ishant, then Agarkar and now Mortaza) to lose the games has been a revelation. 

More than the buzz around “Multiple captaincy theory “and “Talk of Racism”, it seems to be related to the after effect of all these. More than the on field cricketing decisions, in my opinion, it has to do more with the team’s mentality and state going into the game. They have only won a single game and that too thanks largely to the DL Rule and after that they have been losing game after game and as many as 10 games in a row. No matter how good a player you are, losing game after games does have its impact on you. It tires your mind more than it tires your body. You are constantly going into that negative zone where you believe that winning the game is tough. Remember, the old saying “make winning a constant habit”. The dressing room environment is not positive, it is mostly negative. The lack of wins would hardly infuse any positive thinking for the future and it might just be about going there and playing, well as we say, trying your best, without much plan for the game or the future. More so when you are already out of the semis hunt.

When you as a team are in this zone, it is going to be disastrous even during the better moments. The losses do not surprise you any longer as they have been a habit so far and the so called comfortable positions surprise you as they have been tough to come by and probably the team didn’t expect to be in such positions. When a team is surprised by the rare sight of win, it is not hard to feel the pressure and make mistakes. It is very normal to have shaky hands and feet when you needed to defend 20 off the last 6 balls and suddenly someone carves a few boundaries and rubs with a huge DLF maximum onto that. It happens.

KRR should keep this in mind and go into the last two games of their IPL stint thinking they have nothing to lose now. Sometimes, going into a game with this mindset does its own good because it relives the pressure of the outcome and gives you a chance to give your best. Why not try this ways of winning at least a game before we call it “Thanks IPL”, after all we have nothing more to lose anyways now?