Kolkata Knight Riders may be struggling at the moment with just three wins in eight matches, but spin-bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali believes the defending champions have what it takes to make a turnaround and make the playoffs of IPL 2025. KKR’s much-hyped batting line-up has failed to live up to expectations as the team slipped to seventh position in the standings. With six games left, they must win at least five to stand a chance of making the playoffs. “Yes definitely (we can make playoffs). If you look at history, even Mumbai had a bad start and now they’ve won four in a row and they’re flying. We need to have that same mindset. We’re halfway through, we have to win most of our games,” Moeen said on the eve of their clash against Punjab Kings here.
“This squad has shown it can go on a run. But it’s going to take a lot of determination and belief to do that.” KKR’s batting failures have hurt the team with Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, and Ramandeep Singh struggling to finish games.
In their last match against PBKS in Mullanpur, they were cruising at 62/2 in a 112-run chase but collapsed, losing eight wickets for just 33 runs.
Before that, chasing 239 against Lucknow Super Giants, KKR fell just four runs short after a dramatic collapse from a strong position.
“It was not so long ago where we almost chased 240, so we did play well in between. It’s about having the mindset where you kind of fool yourself into thinking you’re playing well and just go all out,” Moeen said.
“Because the way we batted in the last two games, we’re not going to win many. 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.” Despite the inconsistencies, Moeen is optimistic about the team’s potential.
“The real strength is we have guys who can go ultra-aggressive like Sunil Narine, and also classical players like Ajinkya (Rahane), who’s in red-hot form. Angkrish (Raghuvanshi) is doing brilliantly, and then there’s Venky (Venkatesh Iyer), Rinku (Singh), myself, (Andre) Russell — everything is there.
“We genuinely have one of the stronger batting lineups 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.” Having been in and out of the side, Moeen admitted that he has a better perspective at this stage of his career.
“To be honest, if I was younger and still playing international cricket regularly, it would have been a lot harder. But now, it’s about mindset. I prepare like I’m playing every game. When I get the call, I’m ready. Before I came here, I didn’t expect to play too many games anyway, so playing four already is a positive from a personal point of view.” Reflecting on their previous loss to PBKS, Moeen said the collapse boiled down to one bad phase.
“It was literally a bad half an hour or 40 minutes.” Yuzvendra Chahal was the match-winner in that game with a four-wicket haul, triggering a KKR collapse as they were all out for 95 in a chase of 112.
“The guys have played Chahal many times and done well. He had a brilliant day, and we didn’t play him well at all. But you either go in thinking he’ll destroy you again, or you take him on with confidence.
“Hopefully, we do the latter. He’s a very, very good bowler, but before that game, he was also struggling a bit. Confidence can turn in one innings, so maybe it’ll turn our way this time.”
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