The Kolkata Knight Riders finally got some momentum into their Indian Premier League title defence after KKR rebounded from a opening game defeat to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens by beating the Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets at Guwahati’s ACA Stadium. Ironically, while the Kolkata Knight Riders were denied favourable conditions at their home ground in Eden Gardens, they thrived in Guwahati when presented with conditions that suited their line-up.
It was an unbeaten 97 from Quinton de Kock that spurred KKR’s eight-wicket victory over the Rajasthan franchise. But more importantly, it was their spinners Moeen Ali and Varun Chakaravarthy who managed to rein in the Royals batters in the first innings for just 151 runs.
During the first game vs RCB, news reports had suggested that Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee had denied requests from KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane for the pitch to support more spin.
To this, a belligerent Mukherjee had said that the pitch would not change “as long as I’m here”.
Cricketer-turned-analyst Simon Doull said that KKR should consider “moving the franchise away somewhere else”.
“If he’s (the curator) is not taking heed of what the home team wants… I mean they are paying the stadium fees, they are paying for what’s going on in the IPL but if he’s still not paying heed of what the home team wants, then just move the franchise away to somewhere else. His job is not to pass an opinion on the game. That’s not what he’s paid for,” Doull added on Cricbuzz.
READ MORE: ‘Only KKR have no home advantage at Eden Gardens‘: When Ajinkya Rahane’s predecessor as Knight Riders captain complained about pitch
Harsha Bhogle also chipped in.
“If they are playing at home, should get the tracks that they think are suited for their bowlers. I saw something what the KKR curator has said. If I’m in the KKR camp, I’m extremely unhappy of what he said because I’m not asking for a 120 surface. I’m just saying, give me a surface where my bowlers can win matches. To say, ‘sorry, we don’t prepare pitches like that…’ No. We are not asking you to make a 120 pitch, we are not asking you to make a 240 pitch. But I think home advantage in a tournament like IPL is absolutely legitimate. That will enhance the tournament because winning away becomes crucial then,” Bhogle said on the same show.
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