New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) Former Australia captain Aaron Finch has voiced concerns about Kolkata Knight Riders’ decision-making in their loss to Chennai Super Kings, especially during their struggling run chase, indicating that unclear strategies are negatively impacting their campaign.
Finch acknowledged that despite the team’s attempts to innovate in KKR’s batting, the overall execution and tactical decisions were lacking during their Tuesday’s game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
“Certainly wasn’t pretty. A lot of question marks about KKR, particularly in that run chase. Some of their tactics were very questionable. We praised the decision for Sunil Narine to go to the top of the order. It didn’t come off today (24 in 17 balls), but it was something different. At least they tried it,” Finch told ESPNCricinfo.
However, Finch pointed out that beyond the opening shuffle, several decisions failed to create the required momentum in the innings.
“But some of the other decisions were a bit strange. And they were never in the hunt. We talked about Rahane and Raghuvanshi batting together, about how that can be such a stalling [factor]. And their partnership wasn’t bad, but there’s still no point of difference in that partnership. They don’t take the bowling on. They don’t get to a point where the opposition captain has to make some serious decisions about reshuffling their team,” he said.
The former opener also questioned how the team uses its key players, especially in their batting positions, given the experience within the squad, saying, “When you’ve got as much experience in that dugout, you think that they’d be at least making the right calls at the right time. To Cameron Green batting at No. 6, that’s an unusual position for him. I don’t think he’s done that a huge amount in T20 cricket.”
Finch further elaborated on the challenges faced by Cameron Green, especially when coming in under pressure against spin.
“Starting against two spinners [Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad], he only lasted one ball. But that’s his worst nightmare, walking out to bat [against spin], particularly in a run chase,” Finch said. “I don’t think you ever pick a team on price tags. That would be really ignorant to do that. Because buying at the auction is a supply and demand of a skill set that you bring. It’s not about, well, we have to play this guy because we paid this much for him. He’s playing out of position. His best numbers have been at the top of the order,” he stated.
Highlighting potential alternatives, Finch suggested that players like Tim Seifert could offer greater flexibility and attacking options at the top.
“You’ve got Seifert sitting in the wings, he’s a specialist opener. Cameron Green hasn’t played a huge amount of T20 cricket [recently, because of injuries],” Finch said. “So you’ve got a guy there who brings a good skill set and really good form in Seifert, coming off a good [T20] World Cup. Who’s got the scoops, he’s got the ramps, he’s got a lot of different options,” Finch opined.
Finch emphasised that Seifert’s versatility makes him a challenging batter to contain, forcing captains into constant tactical adjustments.
“He is a player that you have to do multiple stages of planning for when you’re a captain coming up against someone like him, because he’s got so many different skills. So I think that there is a time when you just have to say, you know what, it hasn’t worked just yet. That’s not to say that it’s done and dusted for the tournament, but I think that it gets to a point where you go, right, we need to rejig our side and rethink about how we’re structuring it up,” he noted.
–IANS
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