IPL 2025: KKRs Opening Woes Return, Threatening to Derail Their Season

KKR's opening woes have returned to haunt them in IPL 2025, with their average opening partnership being a major concern. The team used 14 different opening combinations in 28 matches across the 2022 and 2023 seasons, with an average partnership of under 20 and a scoring rate of less than 7.50 per over for the first wicket. The think-tank, including former skipper Gautam Gambhir, had hoped that pairing Phil Salt with Sunil Narine would solve the problem, but Narine's form has been a concern.

Narine's performance in the 2024 season was excellent on the surface, with 488 runs at a strike rate of 181, including a maiden T20 century. However, a closer look reveals that luck played a significant part in his success. He attacked 80.8% of the balls he faced, with a false shot percentage of 29.7%, but only four of his 82 false shots resulted in dismissals. This luck seems to have deserted him since leaving Indian shores, with an average of just 8.33 in 25 innings across four tournaments.

KKR's struggles in the Powerplay have been evident in IPL 2025, with scores of 60/1, 40/0, and 41/4 across their first three games. Their opening stand did not last the first over in two of these games, sparking concerns about their title defense. If mean reversion happens with Narine during the course of the season, KKR could be in for big trouble and would need to quickly come up with a Plan B to salvage their campaign. With only CSK scoring at a lower rate than KKR so far in IPL 2025, the Knight Riders need to address their opening woes to get their season back on track.