Former New Zealand captain and SENZ’s own Brendon McCullum has overseen a dominant display by his team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) overnight, with the Kolkata Knight Riders defeating Rajasthan Royals by 86 runs, moving them into playoff contention.
Fellow New Zealander Lockie Ferguson had an exceptional spell taking three wickets for just 18 runs, before the Knight Riders dismissed the Royals for 85 runs in just 16 overs in response to the winning side’s 4/171.
McCullum took over as coach of the Knight Riders in 2019 and is looking to guide his team to their first playoff appearance since joining the Indian side, after narrowly missing finals in the last two seasons.
The Knight Riders currently sit fourth in the standings with a league-high net run rate of +0.587 which is enough to qualify for the playoffs, with the top four progressing to finals.
Remarkably, McCullum’s side began the season in ordinary fashion, winning two of their first seven games.
However, a stunning revival has seen Kolkata win five of their last seven matches, where they are bound to play off against the Delhi Capitals in an elimination final next week.