KKR 'need to sharpen up' in the middle phase to stay in contention, says Rayudu

The win over the already-eliminated Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday afternoon at Eden Gardens made it the first instance of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) winning two games in a row in IPL 2025. Throw in the no-result against Punjab Kings (PBKS), and they have now got five points in three games, and they are contenders to make the playoffs. But some things are not yet as smooth as they would like them to be and, as Ambati Rayudu says, "they have to really sort that middle order out". And that's not all.

On Sunday, it came down to Andre Russell making the most of an entry point he has always asked for but rarely been given, and Rinku Singh doing Rinku Singh things, which he hasn't always been able to do this season. That added up to KKR losing only two wickets after the eighth over, Russell getting to bat from the 13th over, and Rinku getting six don't-think-just-hit balls at the end. It worked well.

But "that middle period, they really need to sharpen up, they need to step up if they have to compete against the big teams that are doing well this season," Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo Time Out. "If they have to win the championship again, they have to really sort that middle order out."

On Sunday, Venkatesh Iyer and Ramandeep Singh, both out of form, were pushed down to allow Russell and Rinku to have a go. Is that a plan KKR will turn to again to make the most of the middle overs while batting?

And what about the middle overs with the ball?

Russell has eight wickets at an average of 20.12 from 11 matches, but has actually bowled in only seven of them, a total of 13.3 overs. He can be expensive - his economy rate this season is 11.92 - but, as Rayudu pointed out, he can take wickets.

"In terms of their bowling changes, they have to be better. I don't know why Russell hasn't bowled today [he did, the 19th over of RR's chase, conceding 11]," Rayudu said. "Russell is a wicket-taker. Even if he goes for runs, when you are 75 for 5 [RR were 71 for 5 in the chase in the eighth over], you want to get somebody in there who can get you those wickets.

"He's always been a wicket-taker. So I think that's one area where [Ajinkya] Rahane has to seriously look at."

Katey Martin, Rayudu's co-panelist on the programme, agreed. "When you're 75 for 5, you go 'how do we get one more wicket here' and the impact player is probably going to come in and then it's Jofra Archer," she said. "So it's just that tipping point of getting your team ahead in terms of defending a total.

"The fact of the matter is they found a way to win and obviously it's must-win to the end, but the teams that can find a way to win from any situation and scrap and fight give themselves the best chance. And ideally, they would have liked to have been further points ahead. But they found a way to win, and I think that can give confidence.

"And if it's that tiny bit around 'okay, how do we improve our intent through those middle overs', they can get there clicking knowing they've got match-winners throughout - that we talked about at the start - then they might sneak through."

KKR next play bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at home on Wednesday, followed by games against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), another poorly performing team, and high-flying Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to round things off. The last two games are away fixtures.