Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) started IPL 2026 with five losses (and a washout) in six games. They just couldn't get anything right, and it might have looked like the one point from the washout was all they would end the season with. But that's not how IPLs go. It's a long tournament. Teams change trends. And that's what KKR have now done, winning four in a row. And suddenly, Deep Dasgupta is saying "it is on" when asked if a late dash to the playoffs was possible.
"A couple of things - one is obviously first half of the season Varun [Chakravarthy] didn't have a good start. They depend a lot on those two bowlers - Varun and Sunil [Narine]: eight overs," Dasgupta said on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut show. "And two, second half [of the IPL], a lot of these pitches or venues which have been used so far are getting a little tired. Where the spinners' role become that much more important.
"So the way they are set up, and how they play, I think it's always going to be the second half of the tournament where they will do much better than the first half."
Speaking at the press conference after KKR beat Delhi Capitals (DC) on Friday night, Cameron Green, who picked up a wicket in his only over and played a useful hand of 33 not out in 27 balls in partnership with the marauding Finn Allen, agreed: "Yeah, I think our team was probably just finding the right combination and where guys should bat to best suit the team. So I think we obviously took a few games to work that out. I think we've got to a really good place now."
One of the things in KKR's favour, if they can make it work, is that their next game, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), is in Raipur. RCB's second home, but really a neutral venue, since no IPL cricket has been played there in ten years. And then KKR play their last three games at home - against Gujarat Titans (GT), Mumbai Indians (MI) and DC.
"Those next two games are the most important out there," Mitchell McClenaghan said. "You have RCB and you have GT. So those two are going to be critical because those are the other teams that are realistically in the running [for the playoffs], and if you can get above them [on the points table] and if you see Punjab [Kings, PBKS] continue to slide and…"
Deep Dasgupta said that the way Allen handled spin was great to see
When things weren't going well for KKR, from the outside at least, it might have looked like a team out of sorts, out of ideas. Not so, if Green is to be believed.
"I didn't think the belief was ever gone. We've had like a really good culture this whole tournament, even before we won a game," he said. "It hasn't felt like we've lost every game by how upbeat everyone's been. I think that's just a credit to the players and the support staff for keeping the vibes high, because obviously it's a really big comp and it means a lot to us.
"To lose those games meant a lot. So yeah, we fought really hard to get back into it, and then I think, yeah, our bowlers have obviously been awesome all comp."
KKR are currently on nine points from ten games. Down at No. 7. But they are a team on the rise, and can potentially get to 17 points with four more wins. If they can do that, a spot in the playoffs is not out of the question. But, it has to be said, KKR's future is as much in their own hands as it is in the hands of their opponents.