New season, old rivalry

The 18th Indian Premier League kicks off here on Saturday with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders taking on perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bengaluru amid a looming threat of rain.

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The season opener at Eden Gardens revives an iconic rivalry. Seventeen years ago, Brendon McCullum’s blistering 158 in the inaugural IPL match set the tone for the league’s legacy. But much water has flown under the nearby Hooghly since then as KKR have won three titles, while RCB are still in search of the elusive crown.

This time, KKR, often known to slump after a championship win, will look to defy history under Ajinkya Rahane’s leadership.

Focus will be on Varun Chakravarthy, the architect of India’s Champions Trophy victory, when he takes on Virat Kohli, who has worked intensely against spin in the nets. Chakravarthy remains cautious about carrying over past success. “Confidence is very subjective. Every new tournament, even if you win the last tournament, you have to start from scratch,” Chakravarthy said.

“You have to start from zero. As they say, if you score a hundred in the previous match, you have to start from zero. Similarly, yes I did well in the last tournament but still, IPL is a different ball game and it’s a different beast. I very well know what’s coming my way and I have to be on my toes.”

Asked about how he maintains his mystery despite advances in technology and video analysis, Chakaravarthy offered a thoughtful insight into his approach. “The ball can deviate only in three ways — it can go left, right or straight. It just depends on how I’m going to choose the sequencing. That’s where the tactical side of the game comes in, and that’s where I’m trying to improve.”

Meanwhile, Sunil Narine, still a force at 36, will look to complement Chakravarthy while also firing at the top to compensate for Phil Salt’s departure to RCB.

For RCB, the firepower of Salt and Kohli at the top, complemented by finishers like Jitesh Sharma and Liam Livingstone, looks formidable. However, their bowling, weakened by the absence of Mohammed Siraj (now with Gujarat Titans), will lean on veterans Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood to make an impact on Eden’s spin-friendly conditions.

Rajat Patidar might have been a surprise choice to lead the star-studded RCB but head coach Andy Flower said the whole team is “right behind” the skipper.

“A lot of these guys have captained state sides, IPL teams and international teams. So, we’re very pleased with that, regardless of who was actually captaining our team this year,” said Flower. “I think having influential people in your squad, guys that have performed at the top level gives him a level of confidence. You get that confidence from the evidence of you succeeding at the top level in the past. There are a lot of our guys that have done that in, obviously, performance terms, but also leadership terms,” he added.

The tournament will begin with a glitzy opening ceremony featuring Shreya Ghoshal, Karan Aujla and Disha Patani. However, all the excitement might quite literally be dampened as there is a forecast of thunderstorms and rain on match day.