Can KKR find a way out of their middle-order mess?

There's a fine line between being inconsistent and being completely out of sync, and right now, Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) middle order is in danger of crossing it. The thumping heartbeat of KKR's batting in IPL 2024 is flatlining this season. KKR's inability to find any fluency through the middle overs has mirrored their broader batting slump this season. Their capitulation in Mullanpur -- where they failed to chase a modest 112 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) - felt like a breaking point. A limp performance against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Monday only deepened the malaise.

What's most concerning is that the personnel hasn't changed much - the output certainly has. Among all teams in IPL 2025, KKR's middle order (positions 4 to 8) has the lowest collective average (20.00), and KKR's average through the middle overs (7th-16th) this season (17.4) is also the worst in the league.

Venkatesh Iyer has embodied that dip. After averaging 46.25 last season, his returns have dropped to 22.50 this year, with six innings bringing him three single-digit scores. His struggles against spin have been especially stark, drawing sharp criticism from former Australia captain Aaron Finch following the loss to GT. "You need to have an intent to take spin down," Finch said on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut. "You can't hit a six or a boundary if you're not trying to. If your first instinct is to knock it into the leg side and run one, you're on a hiding to nothing. It was just mesmerising - the lack of intent."

Andre Russell hasn't fared much better, with just 55 runs in six innings at 9.16. But he perhaps deserves some slack. As KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo pointed out, Russell is often entering when the batting above him has collapsed, or when the asking rate has spiralled beyond 14. "The work needs to be done at the top so that he has a chance to finish the game like he's accustomed to at KKR," Bravo said.

Ramandeep Singh, promoted to inject energy in the middle, has faltered as well - averaging just 7.5 with a total of 30 runs in five innings. Rinku Singh, who wasn't often needed last season with the rest of the line-up doing so well, has been a relative bright spark this year, as an average of 33.25 and a strike rate of 146.15 might suggest, but more often than not, he's come in with too much to do and too little support.

Still, it would be unfair to pin the blame solely on the middle order. Their success last year was built on strong foundations laid by the openers. In IPL 2024, the Phil Salt-Sunil Narine combo had the third-highest aggregate among opening pairs, and averaged 46.58. Salt has moved to Royal Challengers Bengaluru this season, and Quinton de Kock has struggled to replicate his success alongside Narine: their average opening stand this year is 18.16. KKR dropped de Kock in their last match against GT, only for his replacement Rahmanullah Gurbaz to begin his season with a first-over dismissal.

It's no surprise, then, that KKR have the worst powerplay dot-ball percentage of all teams in IPL 2025 (49.82).

It's a domino effect: the same middle order that once thrived on momentum now finds itself forced into damage control. Other teams with struggling middle orders such as Lucknow Super Giants (average of 22.24 from Nos. 4 to 8) and PBKS (25.47) have top-order runs to fall back on, which has kept them in contention for the playoffs.

Following the defeat to GT, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane pointed to the need for batters to be "brave" with their intent despite the form slump. Ahead of Saturday's home game against PBKS, Moeen Ali echoed that sentiment, but framed it differently. According to Moeen, the key lies in a shift in mindset, with the batters needing to almost trick themselves into confidence.

"It's about having the mindset where you kind of fool yourself into thinking you're playing well and just go all out," Moeen told reporters. "We need to go out there, express ourselves, and just have a bit more fun. Sometimes from the outside, it seems the pressure is too much on players, but it's about taking that off and showing your skills."

Moeen remains optimistic about the line-up's potential. "The real strength is we have guys who can go ultra-aggressive like Sunil Narine, and also classical players like Ajinkya, who's in red-hot form. Angkrish [Raghuvanshi] is doing brilliantly, and then there's Venky [Venkatesh Iyer], Rinku, myself, Russell. Everything is there. We genuinely have one of the stronger batting line-ups in the competition. Some players like Angkrish and Ajinkya have done well, but as a unit, we haven't clicked. It's just a matter of turning it around."

It won't be easy, though. Bravo admitted, after the 39-run defeat against GT, that the KKR batters were just "out of confidence." And KKR also have scars from their previous capitulation to 95 all out against PBKS. Three of Yuzvendra Chahal's five best IPL performances have come against KKR, all since IPL 2022, and Venkatesh has been out three times in 18 balls against Marco Jansen.

But PBKS have one weakness - powerplay bowling, with only 11 wickets in eight games - and KKR will hope to exploit it come Saturday. A strong start could fix a lot of their problems, and they only need to look at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) last season and Mumbai Indians on numerous occasions to know that comebacks are possible even when all looks lost. However, time is running out, and with KKR needing to win five of their last six games to make a strong case for the playoffs, it's now or never for the defending champions.