Rajasthan Royals started very well in this edition of IPL but it was mainly due to some individual heroic performances. As soon as Samson stopped scoring Rajasthan’s fortune has started to go southwards. On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore has had a dream start. They made some subtle changes to their line up and have been very consistent this year. It was expected to be a good fighting match as both teams met each other at Abu Dhabi.
Here are my 5 point highlights from the match.
1. Nitin Saini
Nitin Saini has been a great find for Indian cricket. In the last match, he bowled a great super over which helped RCB win against the Mumbai Indians. He bowls at a consistent pace but maintains the line and length. Though he went for a lot of runs in his final over, his first 2 overs went for just 9 runs and he took the all-important wicket of Jos Butler. Saini, Shami, and Bumrah – Indian fast bowling resources never looked better. His beamer which hit Tewatia must be something he would be extremely sorry about – he needs to be very careful about these things in International cricket.
2. Yuzvendra Chahal
Chahal had been a find from IPL. He has played with RCB from his debut and has improved year on year and became an India regular over the last 3 years. He along with Kuldeep Yadav ensured India’s great success in Limited Overs Cricket in 2018-19. He is RCB’s premier spinner in the team and he hardly lets his captain down. Yesterday he took wickets in his first two overs sending back Samson and Uthappa. Samson’s wicket was very important because he has been in red hot form this season. After 2 overs his figures read 2 wickets for 5 runs. He later came back and took the wicket of Mahipal Lomror who was the highest run-scorer for Rajasthan Royals. and undoubtedly the correct man to win the Man of the Match award.
3. Devdutt Padikkal
Padikkal has taken his opportunity to play in IPL with full hands. He already hit 2 half-centuries in the first 3 matches and he continued with the good form yesterday as well. He has a very unflustered attitude while batting and he starts well and then steadies the ship. He takes advantage of the powerplay overs but after that doesn’t take undue risks but keeps the scoreboard moving. RCB lost Aaron Finch early and with Kohli fining his feat, Padikkal took it upon himself to give the team a good start. The chase was not a big one – so that helped. He scored 63 off 45 balls and in the process completed his third half-century in 4 matches. These are very exciting times for Indian cricket. His technique against short rising balls are yet to be tested though but what has been seen till now, looks like India has got a long term replacement for Shikhar Dhawan.
4. Jofra Archer
It’s very difficult to keep this man out of the picture. With the bat, he scored 16 off 10 balls to help Rajasthan Royals cross 150 and then with the ball did what he does best – miserly 4 overs which went for only 18 runs. Rajasthan Royals unfortunately didn’t have enough runs to defend and so it was almost impossible for one man to make a difference. I hope with ben Stokes coming back, Rajasthan Royals’ fortunes will change once again.
5. Virat Kohli is back
King Kohli is back and that’s great news for all cricket lovers across the world. He had been struggling this IPL and I felt that the crisp flick for 4 that gave RCB victory in the last match might make his fortunes change. How right was I? Yesterday, he took some time to get his eye in. It helped that the chase was not steep and Padikkal was going great guns at the other end. But once he got his eye in, the old Kohli was back. Crisp cover drives, the quick pick up shot on the leg side, the clean sixes all were back. RCB is looking like a team possessed and I think they have a real chance of winning this year’s IPL.
So what do you think? Will the return of Ben Stokes bring in a change of fortunes for Rajasthan Royals? Should Jaiswal replace Uthappa?
Do let me know your views. I am all ears!
Chennai Superkings is one of the most successful teams in IPL. One of the reasons for this consistency is that they kept the core team intact for many years lead by the majestic Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But now the problems are seeping in. The team’s average age is very high for any T20 setup. 7 of their players in the playing 11 are above 35 years and that’s not very ideal. Sunrisers Hyderabad on the other hand is having an inexperienced middle-order and some very young bowlers to boot. So one may call that yesterday’s match up was old vs new. Both the teams have been struggling thus far at this year’s IPL and it was an interesting match yesterday in Dubai.
Here are my 5 point highlights of yesterday’s match.
1. The Young Guns of Sunrisers come to the party
Sunrisers Hyderabad was not off to a good start. Their scoreboard read 69/4 after 11 overs. CSK was right on the top with two very young players, Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma in the crease. Both of them had yet to fire in IPL. Both Priyam and Abhishek are talented youngsters with Garg leading India U-19 team to the finals this year and Abhishek was part of the previous U-19 team lead by Prithvi Shaw which won the World Cup. But yesterday was a different challenge – they had to take the team out of trouble. And they did that with aplomb. Priyam Garg played all around the wicket and all bowlers got the treatment. His cuts and pulls were pleasing to the eye and he ended up with 51 runs off 26 balls. Abhishek Sharma was good too and he matched stroke for stroke with Garg and together they had a partnership of 77 runs off just 7 overs to take Sunrisers to a respectable total. Another young player, Abdul Samad joined Garg after Abhishek got out and helped the team reach a healthy total of 164 runs. Samad’s day was not over though because in the second innings he finished his quota of 4 overs and took the wicket of Kedar Jadhav. Though his final over went for 20 runs he bowled well and helped SRH win the contest. The ball followed Priyam Garg yesterday. Multiple times the ball kept coming to him in the field and he showed his outstanding fielding skills by saving 2 boundaries. All in all, it was a great day out for the youngsters.
2. Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja has been a supreme performer for CSK over the years but he is not in his usual self this year. Something is not looking right. In the first 3 matches, he went for over 40 runs in each of them. He is known to keep one end tight even if he doesn’t take wickets but that has not been the case in this year’s IPL yet. Yesterday also he went for 16 runs in the 2 overs he bowled. That MSD is not having the confidence to bowl him out proves something is wrong with this southpaw. Add to this the horrendous fielding performance. As I said earlier, having an aging team will have detrimental effects on the field but Jadeja is considered one of the best fielders in the world. But he ended up dropping a sitter and in the final analysis, it did hurt CSK. He did score a 50 while batting which was pleasing to the eye and I do hope that it will help him to regain the confidence and perform better in the coming matches. Losing 3 matches on the trot has not happened to CSK for a very long time so they would need some inspiration to turn this around.
3. Rashid Khan
Enough has been written about this diminutive leg spinner from Afghanistan. And I am sure this is not the last time I am writing about him. His 4 overs are like insurance cover for his captain. None of the teams tend to take any risks with him and that helps him to keep the run rate in check. Of course, the teams try to take extra risks against other bowlers and end up losing wickets. Yesterday was no different. Rashid Khan was at his miserly best once again. His first 3 overs went for just 5 runs and the asking run rate just shot up. His final figures read 12 runs off 4 overs and once again he was one of the game-changers of the match.
4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Age is just a number for MSD. He is still supremely fit. He kept for 20 overs and then had to come in early to bat and played till the end. It’s a rarity that MSD stayed till the end but the team lost – just shows the importance of Rashid Khan. The asking run rate was so steep that it was not possible to overcome the challenge. That they lost by only 7 runs was mainly due to MSD. Though I think he was tiring at the end and it would have been better if he had taken a single earlier and given the strike to Sam Curran who has been hitting the ball very well. But in the game of cricket, there is no question of ifs and buts. Dhoni went with the conviction to win the match single-handedly but failed. Due credit needs to be given to the bowlers too who didn’t give much room for him to hit those towering sixes. He ended with 47 off 36 balls. So near – yet so far.
5. Injury to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
CSK needed 44 runs in the last two overs with Bhuvi to bowl the 19th. Right after the first ball that he bowled he pulled up and was unable to continue any further. The physio tried to get him fit but it looked like a hamstring problem. Bhuvi has had a problem with injuries and this one could keep him out of action for long. That won’t be good news for SRH because he is an important clog in the bowling line up of SRH. With Bhuvi out of action, the match suddenly became interesting because SRH now had to bowl a spinner at the end. Warner did the smart thing by asking Khaleel to bowl the balance 5 balls of Bhuvi’s over. He went for 16 runs and left 27 runs to defend for Samad. Though Samad gave away 5 wides in the first ball and the last ball went for 6 – in between he bowled well and restricted the batsmen to only singles. Thankfully for SRH, the injury to Bhuvi didn’t cost them the match though they would be hoping that the injury is not too serious.
Towards the end, the match became interesting but overall, SRH had an easy victory and the onus had to be given to the youngsters for the same. IPL would be won by that team who plays the team game. One or two superheroes can’t win you the tournament. SRH will be hoping that their investment in youngsters will pay off. CSK though has a lot to answer.
What do you think is plaguing CSK? Should Rayudu open? Should they give Rituraj Gaikwad a longer run? Should they Imran Tahir back in the XI? Should Sam Curran play higher up?
Appreciate your views!
Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians are two teams that have lost Super Overs this season. Both the teams look good on paper but Kings XI has thinner bowling resources and is way too dependent on their opening partnership with both bat and ball. It’s under this pretext both these teams met at Abu Dhabi for their IPL clash yesterday.
Here are my 5 point highlights of the match.
1. Rohit Sharma
Since 2013 Rohit Sharma has been very consistent. That was the year when he was first asked to open for India and he has not looked back ever since. He starts slow but accelerates very quickly towards the end. Yesterday was no different. He scored 70 off 45 balls but his last 27 runs came off just 7 balls and he took a great liking to Jimmy Nisham ( was it due to the anger of the failure at the World Cup Semifinal?). Rohit was the only one in the top 4 who kept the scoreboard moving because Quinton De Kock, Surya Kumar Yadav, and Ishan Kishan all failed to fire. When Rohit plays well – Mumbai Indian generally wins and it was no different yesterday.
2. The Mumbai finish
Mumbai Indians is one team that has a great middle and lower-middle order. Pollard and the Pandya brothers have got them over the line multiple times in the past. Even in the last match against RCB, it was Pollard at the end who helped Mumbai ensure a tie. Yesterday when Rohit holed out, the scoreboard read 124 in the 17th over. Out came Hardik Pandya and he along with Pollard scored 67 runs off the last 23 balls at over 15 runs per over. An average score became a winning score because of that finish. Though Pollard got the man of the match award because he scored a few runs more than Pandya but Hardik’s strike rate was close to 300 when the innings ended. It’s this grand finish which took Mumbai Indians to 191 – a score which was much in doubt in the middle stages.
3. Rahul the captain
As a leader you not only need to inspire your team towards excellence but you need to make the right decisions too. As a leader, it’s imperative that he or she makes the right decision always. There is nowhere to hide if the decision backfires because you are the one to blame. So in any facets of life – a leader should always weigh his options and then take the decision and then inspire the team to follow the path towards success.
Many of my friends in the last few days were telling me that they see Rahul as a future captain of India. It can happen of course but I personally think Shubhman Gill is the one who is a ready-made leader, not Rahul.
Yesterday Rahul took a call on Cottrell and finished off his quota of 4 overs in the first half itself. Cottrell started very well yesterday. Took a wicket Maiden in the first over and went for just 17 runs in his first three overs. But the pasting he took at the hands of Rahul Tewatia in the last match where he went for 30 runs in an over at the death made Rahul bowl him out early. Add to this he kept one over of Gowtham which he had to bowl at the end. Off-spinner bowling to Pollard and Pandya in the final over is like dishing out freebies and what ensured was mayhem. 25 runs were scored in the final over including 4 sixes. The margin of victory was bigger than this but the decision to not keep one over of your best bowler for the end is not the right way to go about it.
Will an opener not in form won’t open in the next match? It’s simple – your best bowler should always bowl in the toughest situation – that’s his job and as a leader, one needs to give the confidence that he believes in his teammate to perform.
Rahul failed big time in this matter yesterday and I think his batting in the second half of the match faltered because of it too.
4. Jasprit Bumrah
From the time Jasprit Bumrah became a regular in the Indian team he has improved by leaps and bounds. His overs are like insurance cover for Rohit Sharma when it comes to IPL. He generally doesn’t come into bowl straight away. He is kept as a weapon against tough situations. Yesterday Mayank Agarwal once again looked like to be in his elements. Kings XI was off to a pretty good start with both Pattinson and Boult going for runs. Whom does Rohit Sharma turn to? Of course, Jasprit Bumrah and he delivered right away by castling Mayank Agarwal and made a huge dent to the Kings XI chase. He came back again later to pick up the wicket of Jimmy Neesham and finished with 2/18 in his 4 overs. This Mumbai team remains the team to beat this IPL just because of the number of match-winners they have in their playing XI.
5. Rahul Chahar
India has always been blessed with a lot of talented spinners. So much talent that many good bowlers never got a chance to play for India. Think of Rajinder Goel – a legendary cricketer – the highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy and he never got a chance to play for India. Thanks to IPL we get to see a lot of talent these days and almost every team has a leg spinner in their ranks. Rahul Chahar whose cousin Deepak Chahar plays for CSK is one of them. He has now become a regular in the Mumbai Indians team and yesterday he showed why. He bamboozled batsmen with his guile and flight. He can turn the ball both ways and generally doesn’t err in his length. Yesterday he first took out Rahul with a false stroke and then took the big wicket of Glenn Maxwell. His returns of 2/26 off his quota of 4 overs should give the team management a lot of satisfaction!
The bowler Rahul getting rid of the batsman Rahul must be the biggest turning point of the chase.
Kings XI Punjab needs to get their middle order sorted out. Sarfaraz Khan is way too talented to be wasted at number 8. It’s far better to make him play at number 4 and give him the responsibility. I was so looking forward to him performing well this season but it’s not happening yet. They also need to look at their bowling resources. Right now it’s a team of 4 or 5 players. One can’t win IPL in this manner. Your lesser-known players have to perform for you to win the tournament.
So what do you think are the changes that Kings XI Punjab needs to bring in?
Rajasthan Royals has had a great start to this year’s IPL. Sanju Samson helped them steamroll oppositions in the first two matches. But they played both their matches at Sharjah which is relatively having a smaller ground and is a batting paradise. This was their primary challenge to overcome when they met Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai yesterday. With Shahrukh Khan in attendance, KKR didn’t need any other external motivation to perform. So how did it go yesterday?
Here are my 5 point highlights of yesterday’s encounter between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders.
1. Jofra Archer
Jofra Archer is now a household name in international cricket. He has a tremendous pace with very high accuracy. With KKR continuing
to have Sunil Naraine at the top of their batting order – this was one very easy decision for Steven Smith – give the ball to Archer right away. His first 3 overs went for just 4 runs and he took 2 wickets. In the final analysis, Archer was the difference between KKR scoring 175 and not 200. He took the wickets of Shubhman Gill and Dinesh Karthik – both unable to judge the pace. It was a good outing for Jofra Archer.
2. Shubhman Gill
I am very sure this is not the last time I am writing about this batsman. He is just 2 0 years old but he is already the batting lynchpin of KKR. He has a very steady head on his shoulders which he aptly showed in the last match when they chased down SRH. Yesterday it was different because KKR was batting first and with Naraine not able to hit out, the onus was on Gill to keep the scoreboard moving. Gill did that with aplomb scoring 47 runs off 34 balls. He looked good for more till Archer forced him to play that false shot. He was not finished though because in the field he made some great saves fielding at the point region and pulled off a marvelous to get rid of Riyan Parag. I see a future captain of KKR in Gill.
3. The acrobatic Sanju Samson
Can we keep this man out of the discussion? Never possible. Though he failed with the bat yesterday he took a stupendous catch in the field. A couple of days back the whole world was awestruck with the way, Nicholas Pooran saved a certain sixer but if we look at the old records, Samson had also saved in a similar fashion in the last 2 seasons. Yesterday as the ball flew of Pat Cummins’ bat it was destined towards the boundary but wait there was Sanju Samson who back paddled and took the catch falling head over heels. The fielding standards have definitely moved up.
4. Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins is the prize scalp of KKR this season. He looked rusty in the first match but he came back really strong in their last encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad. With the bat yesterday, he gave able support to Eoin Morgan to take the team towards a safe total. When he walked in, the KKR score read 115/5 with less than 5 overs to go. He dug in and built a partnership of 34 runs in 22 balls which gave the necessary momentum to KKR which was well utilised by Morgan to help KKR finish at 174.
With the ball, Pat Cummins was in his elements again. Not only did he take the wicket of Steven Smith, but he was also miserly too. His 3 overs cost only 13 runs and the asking rate for Rajasthan Royals quickly reached 11 per over by the time the Powerplay ended.
5. The Young guns of KKR
As a habit, we have the tendency to go overboard giving accolades to batsmen but the bowlers should get equal importance too. In 2018 KKR invested in youth by acquiring the services of Gill, Mavi, and Nagarkoti – all of them were part of India’s U-19 World Cup win. All ex-cricketers who were there covering the tournament talked very highly about Mavi and Nagarkoti. Nagarkoti got injured before the start of the 2018 season and has been recovering since. Even last year he was not available. Mavi also got injured in 2019. The KKR management though thought long term and decided not to leave them out. In fact, they invested in their recovery and subsequent training. It was a great sight to see both these youngsters playing together and hustling the batsmen up. This is an example of long term thinking. Many teams would have let off these 2 guys and moved on but as astute business thinkers, the KKR management remained patient and now they are starting to reap the rewards. Mavi took 2 wickets for 20 runs yesterday including the prized scalps of Butler and Samson. Nagarkoti came later and took 2 wickets in the first over itself. he is no mug with the bat too as he showed yesterday and a great fielder to boot. Nagarkoti ended up taking 2 catches yesterday with the one that dismissed Archer being top class.
Let’s not forget Varun Chakravarthy though. He seems to be a revelation this year and by the look of things is now ahead of Kuldeep Yadav. Let’s see if all these youngsters can keep up with the consistency. That is the challenge because this is a long tournament and you need to perform consistently to leave a real mark.
It was a youngster’s day out in Dubai yesterday. Gill, Nagarkoti, Varun, and Man of the Match, Mavi all of them performed well. This is what KKR has to hope for because they can’t depend on International stars to bail them out every time. Last year their progress was all about Andre Russell but this year he is yet to warm up. The match turned out to be lopsided but as a KKR fan, I am not complaining!
For Rajasthan Royals, they need to look at their middle-order because they are a top-heavy team with a very dicey middle order.
What are your views on the current Rajasthan Royals’ set up? What changes do you think they need to make to come back to their winning ways?
Sunrisers Hyderabad has a dicey middle-order mainly because all of those players are young and inexperienced. Similarly, they have young pace bowlers too who have hardly played any international cricket. This puts a lot of onus on their Foreign players and a couple of other Indian International players. Their start in this year’s IPL has been less than ordinary and when they met Delhi Capitals at Abu Dhabi yesterday nobody gave them a chance! So how did it unfold?
Here are my 5 point highlights of yesterday’s match.
1. Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada has bowled the maximum number of deliveries in international cricket in the last 18 months than any other fast bowler in the world. He is one of the brightest spots in South African cricket today. Delhi Capitals rely a lot on him because his 4 overs are their insurance cover. Yesterday Rabada was in his true elements. Not only did he take the all-important wickets of Bairstow and Williamson, but he also gave away just 21 runs which were only bettered by Rashid Khan in the match. He kept the batsmen under leash in the power play and kept hitting yorkers at the death.
2. Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra is one of the superstars of IPL. He has taken multiple hattricks and is the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL history. He got his chance to play only because of Ashwin’s injury but he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. First, he got rid of the dangerous looking David Warner to break the blossoming opening partnership of SRH and then took Manish Pandey’s wicket who is a very dangerous player in the middle overs. He went for a few runs in the last over but his first 3 overs was too good and the only reason why Delhi Capitals came back into the match. Let’s see if Delhi Capitals keep him in the team or not after Ashwin gets fit.
3. Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson is one of the most loved cricketers in the world. He got more accolades from the cricket community than even Eoin Morgan after the CWC final last year. The way he accepted the defeat and carried himself and his team were awe-inspiring. He is a copybook cricketer but he remodeled his batting in the last few years to perform well in T20 cricket too. He was injured initially but as soon as he got available, SRH slotted him in. They got instant rewards too. 41 off 26 balls with a very healthy strike rate showed us why he is so important in this team. He being the captain of New Zealand helps Warner too in the field. Having a leader of Kane’s caliber within the field is a huge bonus for Warner. Let’s hope that he gets a long run in this IPL.
4. Rashid khan
Afghanistan cricket has grown leaps and bounds over the last decade. One of the best things with their cricket set up is that very young spinners come through their system. Rashid Khan burst through the scene as a 16-year-old. He is just 22 years old but is now considered a cricket veteran. The amount of cricket he plays across the globe has made him an international star of repute. He is the lynchpin in the Sunrisers’ attack and he hardly lets them down. Yesterday the chase for DC was not that steep but it was Rashid who made it look impossible. If you are chasing 160 odd and one of the bowlers give away only 12 runs in 4 overs then the pressure to attack the other bowlers gets huge and that’s what happened to Delhi Capitals yesterday. Add 3 wickets to this miserly figure and you have your man of the match. Rashid Khan showed all his guile yesterday and ensured an easy victory for SRH.
5. T. Natrajan
Natrajan has been doing very well for Tamil Nadu in the domestic circuit over the last couple of seasons. Many teams bidded for him at the IPL auction. That he was picked ahead of Khaleel Ahmed in the first match showed that the team management thinks pretty highly about him. He has been steady without giving any fantastic returns until now. Yesterday he nailed his Yorkers perfectly. 4 overs – 25 runs – 1 wicket might not look anything great but if you would have seen the 18th over that he bowled you would have known what I am talking about. Bowling yorkers and stopping the batsmen to free his arms is a great art and he did it with perfection yesterday. I am very sure that we will hear a lot about this left-arm pacer in the future.
So Sunrisers Hyderabad got their first points in IPL 2020. The tournament is wide open as always. It was not really a humdinger but then you don’t get nail biters every day. We need the nails to grow up too.
This IPL is different. Not only is the tournament being held amidst a global pandemic – the matches have been spectacular too. That two days in a row we had 2 fantastic 200+ chases amplifies the same. Two tied matches already in this year’s IPL and we still have 50 matches to go. We are being treated to some amazing cricket.
Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore are two teams who are evenly matched on paper and I expected a high adrenaline match no doubt.
Here are my 5 points from yesterday’s match.
1. Great opening partnership
Devdutt Padikkal already stamped his class in his debut match. Though he failed in the next match – he was back to his elements again yesterday. Aaron Finch was more aggressive though. Padikkal got his eye in while Finch went for the jugular. But when Finch got out after a well made 50, Padikkal got into action mode. His strike rate was less than 100 initially but by the time he got out, it improved to 135. He didn’t let his concentration deter after the fall of Kohli’s wicket. He has a steady head on his young shoulders and I am very sure that it’s not the last time I am writing about him.
2. ABDV – the magician
If there is any 360-degree batsman in our era then it has to the mercurial AB DeVilliers. He has the ability to hit perfectly good balls for sixes. It was no different yesterday. He was brutal right from the word go. Though RCB got a great start they stuttered in the middle overs. They didn’t look like crossing 175 at the 12 over mark. ABDV changed all that. All the bowlers were taken to the cleaners including Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. 106 runs were scored in the last 6 overs. He himself scored 55 runs off 24 balls and helped RCB cross the 200 run mark.
3. Ishan Kishan
This IPL is throwing up one after another Indian player who is topping the charts. Ishan Kishan is not a new name in Indian cricket but he never took the onus on himself when it came to IPL cricket. He was happy playing second fiddle. Yesterday it was different. The MI chase was going nowhere and with the scoreboard reading 39/3 in the 7th over, MI looked doomed. But Ishan Kishan didn’t let go of the opportunity. Whenever he hit the ball it stayed hit. He hit 9 sixes and Dubai is not a small ground. Each and every bowler got a severe treatment from him. He matched Pollard in stroke by stroke and Virat Kohli was left bamboozled. India is blessed with so many young batsmen today. Indian cricket is in good hands. The future looks secured.
4. Kieron Pollard
Pollard is having a great last 12 months. He was always known as a hitter but now he is playing the finisher’s role perfectly. Yesterday he hit 60 of 24 balls and he was the primary reason for MI to tie the match. They needed 86 runs off the last 5 overs. That they scored 85 off them was only because of Pollard and Kishan. But primarily Pollard because he intimidates the bowlers and they lose line and length. It was almost a great come from behind victory which was denied ultimately by the super over.
5. Washington Sundar
In a match where more than 400 runs were scored to find a bowler who went for just 12 runs in his 4 overs must be the man of the moment. 4 overs – 12 runs and the all-important wicket of Rohit Sharma – that’s the performance of Washington Sundar. That he bowled 3 of his overs in the power play just shows how much control he had over his line and length yesterday. Everyone is congratulating the batsmen but for me, the man of the match was Washington Sundar. He is not that superstar whom you yearn for but you need such players in your team because you win consistently as a team when everyone contributes. That gives you satisfaction. I am very sure Virat Kohli feels the same too. Sundar didn’t give a single hittable ball yesterday and kept MI under the leash in the power play.
After the last World Cup, the rules of super overs have changed. Now teams will keep playing super overs till you get a winner. Boundary count is no longer a differentiator. We already had a super over a few days back which turned out to be a damp squib. Today also looked no different with MI scoring only 7 runs. But Bumrah bowled a great over and it again came down to 1 required off the last ball. I was so hoping for another super over but it was denied by a crisp flick by Virat Kohli which ensured a victory for RCB.
All in all, cricket wins and IPL wins but the form of Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah is keeping me on tenterhooks.
So what according to you is bothering Kohli and Bumrah? Is it the long lay-off or is it something else?
Sharjah is having the smallest ground amongst the 3 venues at this year’s IPL. When Rajasthan Royals played Chennai Super Kings in their first match at Sharjah both the teams topped 200 runs. So one thing was for sure that we were in for a run feast when Rajasthan Royals met Kings XI Punjab yesterday! But the see-saw battle that happened was something unbelievable. After a spate of a few one-sided matches, we got a humdinger yesterday.
We are living in absolutely challenging times these days and IPL is a kind of a breather for all cricket lovers and it’s no different for me.
Here are my 5 points from yesterday’s encounter.
1. Mayank Agarwal
The last 2 years have been nothing less than magic for Mayank. He was always in the fringes but the breakthrough never came. But he got consistent from 2017-18 and after doing well for India his confidence skyrocketed and this IPL he has been supremely confident and very consistent. He outscored Rahul yesterday very easily. He timed the ball to perfection and luck was with him too because when he mishit the ball it landed away from the fielders. In the first match, Mayank failed to take his team home and he decided to make amends yesterday by playing a stroke full century. 2 consecutive centuries from Kings XI Punjab and it was primarily due to him that RR was set 224 to win.
106 off 50 balls is no mean feat. A strike rate over 200 with 10 fours and 7 sixes – An innings of pure class. That he ended up on the losing side proves what a chase it was yesterday. One for the cricketing folklore.
2. The flying Pooran
Nicholas Pooran is one of the future stars in World Cricket. He had a terrible car crash in 2015. Doctors were not sure if he could walk again forget playing cricket. That he came back from such an incident and to play cricket again and that too at the international level is an inspirational story by itself. Yesterday Pooran took fielding to another level by audacious save which can put great goalkeepers to shame. That he is a wicket-keeper probably helped in that spot jump. The ball was destined to go for a Six when Pooran made the forward lunge. He caught the ball flying but he was across the ropes and in a moment of magic, he threw the ball inside the arena with his body inches off the ground. He saved 4 runs for the team. In the final analysis, that incident didn’t matter much but the acrobatic fielding of Pooran will remain as one of the highlights of this year’s IPL.
3. The consistent Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson is an enigma in Indian Cricket. He is probably one of India’s best batsmen today but he has been guilty of being inconsistent. This is primarily the only reason that he has been overlooked when it came to getting selected for the Indian team. He never got a long stint and whenever he got one he couldn’t capitalise to make it a big one. But, I guess if you see talent then its important that you back him. If you take the case of MS Dhoni – he flopped in his first 3 matches against Bangladesh – got another chance against Pakistan – flopped again but in the next match (Dhoni’s 5th) he scored a strokeful century and he never looked back since. Sanju Samson needs a chance for 2 series at least without undue pressure for him to blossom at the big stage.
One thing that I guess he has realised is that he has to make this IPL count for him to get into the Indian set up. He played a great hand in helping Rajasthan Royals win their first match and he followed that up with even better innings yesterday. 85 off 42 balls with 4 Fours and 7 Sixes kept Rajasthan Royals in the hunt as long as he was there. He had a century in his platter but with Tewatia not able to score Sanju had to take the onus himself and too much aggression led to his downfall.
This innings of Sanju Samson would hopefully make him realise that consistent performance in IPL would keep the selectors interested. I hope without taking undue pressure he should keep performing because he has a bright future in Indian colors in the future.
Two Man of the Match awards for Sanju in a row – the stakes have never been so high for him.
4. Fielding
When the IPL started this year many players looked rusty. It was quite obvious that the 6-month lockdown had taken its toll. The fielding standards were way below par. Some of the misses in the initial matches took us back to the fielding standards of the ’80s. Yesterday it was different. KingsXi Punjab acquired the services of Jonty Rhodes this year and it has rubbed off on the team and how. People will keep talking about the Pooran save for a long time but there were other brilliant saves as well. The boundary saved by Cottrell and another one by Mayank were simply brilliant. The fielding standards have definitely picked up in the second week of the IPL.
5. Rahul Tewatia – Naam toh yaad rahega
The Rahul’s in IPL 2020 are having a field day. If it was KL Rahul’s heroics that took IPL by storm then it was the turn of Rahul Tewatia today. IPL has always given a great platform for many unknown Indian players to perform and showcase their skills in front of a global audience. When Steven Smith got out yesterday, Rajasthan Royals took a risk with Rahul Tewatia – who is a bowling allrounder – by sending him up the order. The move was failing spectacularly with Rahul unable to take even singles – forget pinch-hitting. His first 20 balls yielded only 11 runs and he was one of the reasons why Sanju Samson lost his wicket because he thought to take the onus himself. Sanju Samson in fact denied a single in one of the overs because he didn’t want to waste any balls on Tewatia anymore. But something changed after Sanju got out because the next 11 balls that Rahul Tewatia faced yielded 42 runs with one Cottrell over being smashed for 30 runs (5 sixes). By the time he got out the equation read 2 runs needed off 6 balls – the match well and truly in Rajasthan Royals’ grasp.
Last year Andre Russell won a few matches for KKR from absolutely despair situations – this innings of Tewatia was completely in Russell zone. 6 sixes in the last 11 balls that he faced turned the match completely in its head. All the hits were clean and came from the middle of the bat. The best part was that it came against International pace bowlers. I doubt if Cottrell has ever been hit in this manner ever. Incidentally, this was the highest successful chase ever in IPL history.
Let’s see if this is a one-off incident – I will be eagerly waiting to see what he does in the rest of the tournament.
It was one of the thrillers which won’t be forgotten easily. IPL 2020 is giving us a lot of reasons to smile.
So what are your thoughts on the lengths that Shami and Cottrell bowled towards the end? Was it a case of taking things lightly after Sanju Samson got out?
Thoughts?
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders were two teams who had yet to open their accounts after the first 7 days in IPL 2020. Both were desperate to get their campaign on track as they met each other at Abu Dhabi yesterday. IPL is a very long tournament and hence its always important to get some momentum in your side otherwise the motivation falls and it gets very difficult to come back. It’s even harder this time around with no “Home Grounds” and no “Home Crowd” to root for you from the stands.
Here are my 5 points from yesterday’s match.
1. Pat Cummins’ comeback
The premier fast bowler whom KKR bought at a hefty price this year looked off-color in the first match. But he was back with a vengeance yesterday and his very first ball stamped his class with a back of length delivery to David Warner. He didn’t give a single hittable ball in his quota of 4 overs, 3 of which he bowled inside the power play. His returns of 1/19 in 4 overs were the best among both the teams and by the look of things Pat Cummins would be a threat to all participating teams this year. KKR needs him to be at the top of his game in each and every match due to the inexperience amongst its bowling resources.
2. Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy & Nagarkoti
KKR invested heavily in young players over the last couple of years. After the 2018 U19 World Cup win, KKR went aggressively to secure the purchase of a few U19 rookies. Two of them were Mavi and Nagarkoti. Both these youngsters were the frontline pacers of the Indian campaign in New Zealand 2 years back. Unfortunately, Nagarkoti got injured and was sidelined for close to two years. Even Mavi was injured for one year but credit to the management that they didn’t let them go and finally we found both of them playing together. I have been waiting for 2 years for this to happen.
Both bowled just 2 overs each and looked sharp as well. I just hope they live up to their potential.
Varun Chakraborty was a hefty recruit by Kings XI last year. An unknown mystery spinner who can turn the ball both ways without any change of action – Varun was decimated at Eden Gardens last year and his IPL journey seemed to have ended. Kings XI didn’t give him another chance and was let off at the end of the season. This year, KKR took him and he looked a far different bowler than the one that turned up last year. His line was impeccable and he didn’t give any lose balls. The last ball of his quota of 4 overs went for a six otherwise his bowling figures would have been exactly the same as Cummins. That he bowled his full quota and Kuldeep didn’t bowl his drives home the point. By the look of things, it seems this year Varun will get an extended run. Getting the wicket of the dangerous looking Warner must have given Varun a lot of confidence for the rest of the tournament.
KKR is overtly dependent on young Indian players and hence it’s important that this group take this as an opportunity to stamp their class.
3. Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey according to me is the right-handed Raina. Not only is he an aggressive batsman, but he is also a terrific fielder too. That he didn’t get an extended run in the Indian Cricket team boils down to luck because he got injured during a crucial phase and other young players came in and established themselves. He is an important clog in the SRH setup because SRH is another team that has a lot of uncapped or inexperienced young Indian players. For SRH to succeed, Manish has to play a very important role because they are way too much dependent on Bairstow and Warner. Manish has to not only be the finisher but also has to sometimes rebuild the innings and take it deep. In this context his innings of 51 yesterday was the sole reason why SRH got to a total of respectability.
4. Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill is one player about whom everyone is talking about for more than one year now. Last year he played some handy knocks in the IPL and he has been a very consistent performer in the domestic circuit too. He captains the India “A” team as well. Though he is yet to break into the playing XI of the Indian team the time is not far off. He was cool as a cucumber yesterday. Not only was he aggressive yesterday but when the situation demanded he completely cut down on stroke-making and concentrated on rotating the strikes. He seems to have a problem with the rising ball outside the off-stump though. In the last match he fell into that sucker pull and today he looked in discomfort too with similar kinds of deliveries. This problem seems to be more with left-arm pacers. He needs to work on this aspect but probably there are not many left-arm pacers around the nets in the KKR setup. He consciously made amends though and I could distinctly see that he was trying to roll his wrists over while attempting the pull shots. He is a fast learner and I am very sure he will overcome this with the help of Brendon McCullum and David Hussey.
His 70 runs yesterday was the highest score in IPL history to contain no misses or edges. So the highest chanceless knock ever in IPL history.
Well played Shubman Gill. KKR will hope that he continues with this form of his in the coming matches.
5. Eoin Morgan
Morgan was a star recruit for KKR this year. He had played earlier for KKR too but now Eoin Morgan is the captain of the world cup winning team and the man who is regarded to have turned around the English limited overs set up. To get a man of his caliber is of great importance for this team because it means Dinesh Karthik has someone to fall back upon in the field because Morgan is a great leader. If you ask me, Morgan should actually lead this team in place of Dinesh. Yesterday he started circumspectly and tried to sweep every ball against Rashid. Fortunately for him, he didn’t get out in that initial struggling phase because towards the end he started toying with the bowlers. He is a class act and once he gets into the groove he can take away the match from any opposition. His innings of 42 off 29 balls yesterday must have come as a breath of high relief for KKR because after a long time in recent memory that KKR won a match chasing without Russell.
Though KKR won the match yesterday one needs to look at things holistically and understand that SRH itself is struggling so winning against a struggling team doesn’t mean that the loopholes have been plugged.
Is going with 7 bowling options the right way to go about for KKR?
Making Naraine open – is this the right way to go?
Does Tom Banton get a look in?
Does Kuldeep hold on to his place?
When does Williamson come back for SRH?
Will SRH sacrifice Bairstow to play an out and out fast bowler in Billy Stanlake?
Lots of questions to be answered!
Before I end, let me wish the only KKR man to hit a century in IPL and the current Head Coach of the team, Brendon McCullum a very happy birthday!
Chennai Super Kings is one of the most successful teams in the Indian Premier League. But, if you take a courtesy glance at their squad you will realise that the average age of the team is very high. It’s loaded with experience but if age is catching up with you then this T20 format can be very exhausting. Most of their players are either retired or have played International cricket many years back. Add the absence of Raina and Harbhajan from the squad along with the injury to Bravo and CSK has some big holes to fill. After the first match, their MoM, Ambati Rayudu got injured and it complicated matters further. It’s under this context that they met Delhi Capitals in their third outing of this season in Dubai.
Here is my 5 point analysis of yesterday’s match.
1. To walk or Not to walk
A simple delivery outside the off-stump – Prithvi Shaw played for the outswing – the ball didn’t swing – took the faintest of edges and landed in Dhoni’s gloves. Nobody heard a thing and the game continued as usual. Both Dhoni and Chahar didn’t hear the nick and hence didn’t appeal. Prithvi Shaw carried on nonchalantly.
Adam Gilchrist propagated the ethics of walking which has been highly debated amongst the cricket circles. He always walked if he knew he nicked the ball. Was Shaw right in staying on? Legally he was right in staying on because no one appealed. But it definitely was a lucky break for him.
2. Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw was highly regarded in Mumbai circles even before he became the captain of the Indian U-19 team that won the World Cup in 2018. His talent was fast-tracked and he burst into the Indian team as an 18-year-old and scored a stroke-filled century on debut. But his attitude let him down thereafter and he suddenly found himself out of the team and right now he is still in the fringes. One of his biggest drawbacks is his consistency. Even in last year’s 
IPL, he blew hot and cold. Will he be consistent this year? Yesterday he gave a glance of what he can achieve. He played a strokeful 64 runs which was the only half-century across the two teams. One thing he needs to look at is playing in the V during the initial stages – playing cross-batted strokes in the initial part of an innings is always fraught with danger. I hope he scores runs consistently this season. That’s the only way he can justify his talent.
3. The flying MSD
Age is just a number for MS Dhoni. At his age, he is extremely fit and can challenge any other youngster in the field. The last ball of the 19th over – Shreyas Iyer nicked the ball and it flew past close to the first slip towards the boundary – but wait, there was a flying saucer on the field named, MSD who just threw himself 
to his right to snatch the ball in thin air. What a catch!
4. Rabada
Kagiso Rabada is one of the best bowlers in the world today. South Africa is having a lot of internal turmoil when it comes to cricket these days but their shining armor has been Rabada who has taken a huge load of work over the last 2 years and has been consistent across all formats. Delhi Capitals has the most balanced lineup across all teams this year plus one of the youngest teams in the tournament. Rabada, their primary fast bowler never disappoints them. Yesterday was no different. His 3 wickets amplified that fact. In the earlier match too it was Rabada who won them the Super Over. An exciting talent and we will hear more about him in the days to come.
5. The toss factor
All captains are fearing the dew factor and hence opting to chase after winning the toss but what’s happening is that most of the time the first innings score is getting so high that the dew factor is getting negated. It happened yesterday again. I guess its time for teams to look at their strengths and decide their course of action. Chasing will only be possible if you have to chase around 160 runs (most of the time) otherwise it will be difficult as the days progress because the pitches will get slower in the latter half of the tournament.
It was 2 losses in a row for CSK which should be a botheration for them. On the other hand, Ponting and Iyer must be in a very happy space with Delhi Capitals winning two on the bounce.
So what do you think should be the changes for CSK in their next match?
Kings XI Punjab snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in their last match. On the other side, Royal Challengers Bangalore won their inaugural match in IPL after many years. They were hoping to make it 2 in a row which last happened to them way back in 2009. This is the pretext in which RCB met KXIP in Dubai yesterday.
Here are my high points from yesterday’s game.
1. Rahul: Naam toh Suna Hoga
When KL Rahul first burst into the international scene he was a copybook batsman just like his mentor Rahul Dravid. He in fact scored a century too in his very first series against Australia in Australia. He was straightaway branded as a Test Specialist. But consistency eluded him. His career was going nowhere and then he decided to enhance his keeping skills. This ensured that he replaced Dhoni as India’s number one keeper in limited-overs cricket especially with Rishabh Pant unable to convert his talent into runs. In 2019, he kept for all the matches in IPL and this followed in the international arena too. Is Rahul India’s answer to Adam Gilchrist? Only time will say but a copybook cricketer transforming himself into an aggressive opening batsman is a story by itself. Though he has lost his place in the Indian test team – I think his class of play can’t be kept out for long.
Yesterday other than the two umpires, Rahul was the only person who was in the field for the entire duration of the match. First, he carried his bat through the innings and then kept for the entire duration of the RCB chase. This is no mean feat considering the heat in Dubai.
The boundaries that he hit on the offside were class apart. He is one of the best cover drivers in world cricket. Rahul is an aggressive player but he knows how to build an innings. He didn’t go after the bowlers right at the start. He got his eye in but didn’t let the bowlers dictate to him. He ensured that the run rate was always above 8 per over in the power play.
Yesterday’s game was all about KL Rahul. Because he built his innings so meticulously – it ensured that in the end, he became unstoppable. The last 2 overs yielded about 50 runs for KXIP and it was only possible due to Rahul’s heroics. He took apart Dale Steyn and cut him a sorry figure at the end.
Rahul hit 21 boundaries (14 fours and 7 sixes) and that’s an average of one boundary per over. It was a brutal innings at the end.
In the process, he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing IPL record of being the quickest Indian to 2000 runs in IPL history.
Rahul finished with 132 runs which incidentally is now the highest individual score by an Indian in IPL history.
Incidentally, RCB as a team lost the match by 23 runs to Rahul. The gap was this big yesterday.
2. Virat Kohli dropping sitters
Kohli is an aggressive individual and believes in a high-performance culture. He himself raises the bar when it comes to anything related to cricket in the field. He always leads by example and demands the best from his players. So it was quite strange to see him drop 2 absolute sitters yesterday. And guess what both the catches he spilled was of Rahul and it was before he reached his century. In the final analysis, these 2 catches might not look like a difference but you never know what would have happened if Kings XI ended up scoring less then 180. So according to me, these 2 catches did have an effect on how RCB fared when they batted because they lost momentum towards the end and they were mentally exhausted.
3. Dale Steyn
If there is one fast bowler whom I loved to watch it was Dale Steyn. His lucid action, speed, aggression was inspiring. That he was the number one bowler in the world during his hay days was not a surprise. Unfortunately, Dale Steyn could never replicate that type of form on a consistent basis in IPL. I was a bit surprised that RCB relied on him to carry the load of pace bowling this year especially with having Umesh Yadav in their ranks who himself is an inconsistent performer when it comes to limited-overs cricket. Dale Steyn cut a sorry figure yesterday going for 57 runs in his 4 overs. I doubt if we will see him in the next match. But does RCB has a readymade replacement? It was really sad to see how one of the best bowlers in the world ever getting hammered to submission. He was a pale shadow of himself. I hope Dale Steyn will show some spark before the tournament ends.
4. Horror start
When you start a chase and especially if it’s a big one then what you need is a very good start in the power play. But what happened yesterday was just the opposite. Both Cotrell and Shami were in top form and before we could blink the eye RCB was reeling at 4/3 with Devdutt, Philippe, and Kohli back in the hut. The chase fizzled out even before it could start and what ensured after that was mere formalities.
5. Ravi Bishnoi
I first saw Ravi Bishnoi in the last U-19 World Cup which happened earlier this year. Though India lost in the finals to Bangladesh two players stood out. One was Jaiswal who ended up being the highest scorer of the tournament and the other one was Bishnoi who ended up being the highest wicket-taker. It was no surprise that Bishnoi was drafted in the first XI and he did his reputation no harm in the first match. He came back even stronger yesterday and picked up 3 wickets. A wrist spinner is always great to watch. He is young and he is aggressive and I hope with the guidance of Anil Kumble we will see a better Bishnoi ready for International cricket. He is still primarily a googly bowler and he needs to get his leg-spin equally effective for him to become a consistent performer at the world stage.
It turned out to be two days in a row where we had a one-sided contest. This is not good for the tournament where the teams are pretty equally matched.
So what do you think would be the future course of action for RCB to get their bowling sorted?
Do let me know your thoughts?