IPL 2022: Brendon McCullum rues KKR’s power play struggles

Pune: Kolkata Knight Riders were found wanting on more than one front, but head coach Brendon McCullum singled out their struggles in the power play, as a disappointing IPL campaign neared its end. Former champions KKR suffered their seventh defeat on Saturday night, a 75-run drubbing by Lucknow Super Giants here. “We struggled in the […]

Pune: Kolkata Knight Riders were found wanting on more than one front, but head coach Brendon McCullum singled out their struggles in the power play, as a disappointing IPL campaign neared its end.

Former champions KKR suffered their seventh defeat on Saturday night, a 75-run drubbing by Lucknow Super Giants here. “We struggled in the power play which has been a frustration for us throughout the season,” McCullum said, adding that the team needs to find a way to be more aggressive without losing wickets in the first six overs.

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The Shreyas Iyer-led side now finds itself on the brink of elimination. “We’ve been good throughout the middle phase and not too bad at the death,” McCullum said at the post match press conference. “But in the power play we’ve been a little stuck and we’ve to find a method to not lose many wickets and also throw a few punches and get a few boundaries,” he reiterated.

KKR have used several opening combinations this season but failed to find the one that clicks. Their openers have not been able to give kind of starts required for teams to win matches. “If you look around other teams at the top of the table, one of their opening batters is also one of their highest run-scorers. It’s an area we haven’t been able to settle. Unfortunately, some of the guys haven’t been in the form that they would have liked to. “That happens, sometimes. In a quick tournament, you do have to sometimes change personnel. It’s been a little frustrating. But the guys have been working really hard, it hasn’t necessarily worked out for us but can’t fault their effort.” Taking about the chopping and changing of the playing XI throughout the season, the New Zealander said: “Few changes were forced upon us with overseas players joining in late in the tournament plus a couple of injuries and loss of form.

“It’s not always easy but we need to find a method to deal with the attacks that come to us.” KKR retained Venkatesh Iyer ahead of the auction but the all-rounder, who enjoyed a breakout last season, struggled to put up good performances with the bat and ball and was eventually dropped from the side.