IPL 2023: KKR's opening woes continue as Knights lose early wicket again

Kolkata Knight Riders have made a stuttering start to their match against Mumbai Indians on Sunday (April 16). batting first, the KKR side have lost an early wicket yet again.

KKR are playing their 5th match of the IPL 2023 season. And it is the fifth time their opening stand hasn't survived the first six overs. KKR's woes at the top of the order continued on Sunday as well, as Narayan Jagadeesan departed in the second over without troubling the scorers.

KKR and their Opening Stand in IPL 2023

KKR's batters at the top have so far struggled in all the matches. In all of their games, they have lost one of their openers early, which has put significant pressure on the middle orders. It has been a regular routine for the Knight Riders.

KKR lost their first wicket for 11 runs against MI, while in the last four matches, their opening wicket has fallen on 13 (vs PBKS), 26 (vs RCB), 20 (vs GT) and 0 (vs SRH).

The average number of runs scored in the opening wicket is 14, which is the lowest in this tournament. The longest a KKR opening pair has survived is 20 balls, which was in the RCB match.

KKR have used different opening pairs

KKR have also chopped and changed their opening pair several times. Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been a constant starter, but his partners have kept on changing. Mandeep Singh opened in the first match against Punjab, while Venkatesh Iyer came to open in the second match against RCB.

But it has been Narayan Jagadeesan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz who has opened in the last three matches, but yet to put up a decent opening stand between them.

The Knight Riders have seen Rinku Singh doing wonders and winning them matches, and they have seen Shardul Thakur demolishing and scoring a lot of runs. Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer have also found form to further bolster their cause.

And its high time that their openers redeem themselves and get things right. In a marathon tournament like IPL, a strong start at the top is imperative, and KKR desperately need that now.

Average Opening Partnerships in IPL 2023

Note: All stats are as of the 1st innings of the MI vs KKR Match, April 16