IPL teams have completely dominated the Champions League T20 this year and Hobart Hurricanes are the only non-IPL team left in the competition as we approach the semi-finals, to be held in the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad. Hobart Hurricanes take on their biggest challenge, though, as they take on the Kolkata Knight Riders, known to have the best spin attack in the competition. The Knight Riders have been so effective that they have never allowed any opposition team to score past 160 run against them, when such totals are a norm in this tournament.
How many spinner do the Knight Riders have? Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla and Yusuf Pathan. Mystery spin, chinaman, legspin, offspin – everything covered. It’s just too bad that Shakib Al Hasan is unavailable, as they would have had left-arm orthodox spin in the team as well. The four Knight Riders spinners have picked up 23 wickets in four matches in all, so far, as many as six wickets every game. And that at a brilliant economy rate of 6.20, which shows just how dominant they have been.
Perth Scorchers coach Justin Langer described playing spinners in India to eating chilli, to point out just how the Australian teams have found it here in India. The Hurricanes have done spectacularly well against Cape Cobras, Northern Knights and Barbados Tridents, but none of these sides are known for their spin bowlers. A different and a truly daunting challenge awaits the Hurricanes this time.
There has been a controversy, though as Sunil Narine’s bowling action has been questioned by the authorities. But Narine is all set to play. He has been by a fair distance the best bowler in T20 cricket and for the Knight Riders, he has been spectacular . “Nothing has been said over the last three years since he has been with KKR. So, it’s a bit of a surprise, but Sunil is a character. He is confident that it might be a problem in technique, something he can go on and work on,” said Trevor Bayliss, the Kolkata Knight Riders coach, when asked about Sunil Narine’s quicker delivery being reported for a suspect action.
Hurricanes have Shoaib Malik to hold the innings together and push on in case it threatens to fall apart in the face of the spin onslaught. The former Pakistan captain is just perfect for the sub-continental conditions unlike the rest of the Australians are, and he has had a fine tournament, without being spectacular. Malik is Hurricanes’ best run-getter after Aiden Blizzard and has a decent strike-rate of 135.89.
If there is hope for the Australians, it’s that the Knight Riders are not the best batting side in the tournament and have far too many obvious weaknesses. They have found chasing hard and have consistently struggled, and the captain Gautam Gambhir isn’t exactly in sparkling form. But the Kolkata team is known to fight to the very end, and that should give the supporters of the Knight Riders some hope, at least.
