Ferguson picked up a wicket from his first ball.
During the Sunrisers Hyderabad chase on Sunday (October 18), commentators asked KKR head coach Brendon McCullum about Lockie Ferguson’s inclusion in the XI. Ferguson, in his first game of the season, had just chosen two wickets in his first two overs to put him in command of the 163 defense. McCullum in response made a very interesting observation. He noted how the capitals of Delhi and the Indians of Mumbai, the leaders of the table this season, have shown the rest of the league the blueprint for success.
When the decision to move the IPL to the United Arab Emirates was announced, the general consensus was that teams with a strong spin attack will have a clear advantage over the rest. Considering the fact that 60 games were scheduled in just three locations, it made sense to assume that slow players will rule the roost. But 35 games on the season, those pre-tournament predictions have been discarded. Six of the top seven goalkeepers this year have been pacemakers and all six of them consistently shoot above 140, indicating that pace has been a threat.
MI paired Jasprit Bumrah with Trent Boult this season and DC added Anrich Nortje to their attack that Kagiso Rabada already had. The result? Among all teams, these two rhythm attacks have the best record this year and that has seen them cement their position at the top of the table. RCB, who is right behind those two, has also now been bolstered by the return of Chris Morris, who has already made a big impact. And KKR’s tactic on Sunday of following in MI and DC’s footsteps has given them a significant advantage over the other four teams in the race for a playoff spot.
His main signing, Pat Cummins, was paired with Ferguson and the move paid dividends immediately. In expected lines, Ferguson was not seen as a certified starter this season for KKR after the arrival of Cummins. Eoin Morgan was hired to enforce the middle order and people like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine were the immovable ones. Ferguson didn’t help his cause with his performances last year as well, where he collected just two wickets in five games, conceding 10.76 runs over. But its shares have only risen since then. He finished the World Cup last year as the second-biggest wicket receiver, thus cementing his place in New Zealand’s white ball squads.
With Narine entering tricky territory again after her action came under scanner for the umpteenth time, an opportunity arose for KKR to unleash Ferguson. And he made his tackle in great style, hitting the first ball he threw. A dangerous-looking Kane Williamson died while attempting a superior cut. He showed off the tricks he had up his sleeve in his follow-up by executing a perfect leg cutter that shook Priyam Garg’s stumps. Those two wickets turned the game upside down when SRH lost its early lead.
Two laps later, he was back again, hitting three windows in three starts with a fierce Yorker who shook the stump to send Manish Pandey back to the pavilion. After Ferguson’s arrival, even Cummins made one of his best starts to finish 1/28 in his four overs. McCullum’s calculations worked. But the job was not done and Ferguson’s biggest shock was yet to come. SRH kept fighting hard and the game ended in a draw. The 29-year-old then hit the wood twice in the Super Over to crush the opposition and ultimately deliver two points to his side.
While it can be pointed out that it took KKR nine games to cope with the current trend of unleashing a brutal and scorching pace for success, it is not too late yet. They sit comfortably fourth now with ten points, 4 more than their rivals, which gives them a cushion. The likes of CSK and SRH who have fought this season don’t have the same luxury in the pace department and the results have been reflected in the points table.
SRH bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan rejected the suggestion to put Billy Stanlake into the XI in search of a change of course. And even if they want to contemplate such a move, they already have an enigma in terms of their overseas staff that won’t allow them the luxury of including the Australian pacemaker. CSK is pretty much in the same boat and players like the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab don’t have reliable resources to complement Jofra Archer and Mohammed Shami respectively.
The fact that KKR already have five wins without ever having put in a full performance puts them in a great position. Ferguson’s timely presentation has only further bolstered his chances of holding on to that fourth place.
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