Mumbai Indians have not played like a champion side this season. Their batters have struggled to score runs and that’s been their major problem throughout this tournament. Rajasthan Royals is one of the weaker teams this season and I expected Mumbai Indians to bolster their batting unit because a loss against Rajasthan Royals would have been disastrous for them. But I was surprised to see that they dropped Ishan Kishan instead and replaced him with Nathan Coulter Nile. It meant that they bolstered their bowling attack and one look at their team sheet made me feel that they are light on batting.
Rajasthan Royals on the other hand doesn’t have many options in front of them so quite expectedly they went with the same playing XI.
A doubleheader on a weekday is not a preferable option for me because I have a day job to take care of and hence I followed the match mostly through online score updates.
So let’s look at the hits and misses from yesterday’s match.
The Hits:
The wickets column doesn’t always give you the perfect picture. Yesterday Jasprit Bumrah took only one wicket but his performance was way above the rest on the field. 4 overs for 15 runs when the opposition scores 171 tells you that his economical spell made a big difference between Rajasthan Royals scoring an average total against a big one. You need to have a bit of luck when it comes to picking up wickets but unfortunately, Bumrah is not having that luck at the moment but he has made sure that he is at his economical best which in turn is helping Mumbai Indias to stifle oppositions.
Rahul Chahar has had some match-winning performances under his belt this season. His match-winning spell against KKR has been a big confidence booster for him and he has been among the wickets ever since. Mumbai Indians have been winning matches due to their bowlers and Rahul Chahar was on the forefront yesterday too. Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal made a good start yesterday. In fact, Buttler looked in good touch for a big innings when Chahar stuck and he followed that up by picking up Jaiswal too. This double breakthrough put a break to Rajasthan’s scoring rate and in the end, they couldn’t put up a challenging total.
Before the match I expected Mumbai Indians to drop Quinton De Kock because he had hardly scored any runs this season. But they stuck with him and yesterday QDK gave the returns. He not only batted right through, but he scored a quick rate too. Mumbai thus far has been very dependent on Rohit and Surya Kumar Yadav and when these two wickets fell there was a chance of a meltdown but QDK made sure that he kept his end up. He got able support from Krunal Pandya and in the end, Mumbai Indians won the match quite easily with 9 balls to spare.
The Misses:
Shivam Dube is getting an extended run this season because Rajasthan Royals is short on the bench. He is yet to play any special knock and his domestic form is yet to be replicated in IPL. He must consider himself extremely lucky that Rajasthan Royals is persisting him at number 4 because he is yet to play a forceful innings. Yesterday after a good start what Rajasthan Royals needed was an enforcing innings from Dube. But that didn’t happen and he wasted too many deliveries which meant that their finisher Miller didn’t get many deliveries to play. I think if Dube has to play then he should come down the order because Rajasthan is losing momentum in the middle overs because of him.
Jos Buttler looked in good touch yesterday but due to the void that’s created due to injuries in the team, he needs to play long innings. Good-looking 30s and 40s won’t help Rajasthan Royals to win matches. Yesterday he was looking good to play a big one but then got out trying to be over-ambitious. I hope he plays some big knocks in the upcoming matches because when Jos Buttler plays well, it makes for great viewing.
Playing Nathan Coulter-Nile and Jayant Yadav together was a very surprising move from Mumbai Indians. Both of them didn’t give any eye-catching performance and though Mumbai Indians won the match easily I do not think it is the right combination for them going forward.
Mustafizur Rahman is the leader of the bowling attack in the Rajasthan Royals team. It is hence very important that he performs to his potential on all the match days. Rajasthan Royals would need him and Chris Morris to perform consistently with the ball otherwise they would find it very difficult to win matches against the top-ranking teams. For IPL to be competitive, teams like Rajasthan Royals must win a few matches. A one-sided tournament is not great for viewers and right now there is a big chance that we might have the most one-sided IPL ever.
For the sake of the viewers, teams like Rajasthan Royals must win against the top 4 ranked team in the upcoming future.
What to look forward to?
For Rajasthan Royals, it’s looking extremely difficult to make an impact in the tournament. For them to turn this around they need to have their best batters play some significant knocks. Holding back Miller is not a very smart decision and they should play him at number 4. They will also hope that their three main batters, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, and David Miller play significant knocks going forward.
For Mumbai Indians, I feel they got their combination wrong yesterday even though they won the match. Dropping Ishan Kishan didn’t feel good and I hope they reverse the decision in the next match. I would suggest having him back in the playing XI in place of Jayant Yadav. They have a good bowling attack and they are in good form so once their middle-order gets runs under their belt, we might as well see Mumbai Indians lifting the trophy once again.
So what do you think? Should Ishan Kishan get back his spot in the playing XI?
Do write in as another match awaits us today evening. This time it’s Punjab Kings Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore.
PS. We do not rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training.
Towards the fag end of IPL 2020, Chennai Superkings got their act together winning the last 3 matches. It was too late in the tournament but they derailed the party for KKR and Punjab Kings. One significant factor that played out in those 3 matches was the form of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf Du Plessis. When the tournament started this year, I was looking forward to seeing how Ruturaj performs this year. There were expectations and I guess that put him under a bit of pressure initially with 3 continuous failures. It was great to see though, that CSK kept backing him and now the results are coming consistently.
Another day, another match, change of venue but the run machine of both Faf Du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad continued unabated. When Kane Williamson hit those lusty blows in the end taking Sunrisers to 171, I felt we will have another close match. But, how wrong was I as CSK bossed the chase and at one point looked like finishing the match with all wickets in hand. Rashid Khan picked up a few wickets at the end to create a flutter but finally, CSK won the match easily to reach the top of the table.
So what were the hits and misses from yesterday’s encounter in Delhi?
The Hits:
Faf Du Plessis was the consistent performer for CSK in UAE last year. Though CSK didn’t have a good time, Faf didn’t let them down. It has been no different this year too and other than the first match he has scored consistently. With three fifties already in his kitty, he is leading the race for the orange cap. CSK will hope that he continues with this good form because with him in good touch the work gets that much easier for the team down the order. In Ruturaj he has got an able partner. It was their second 100 run partnership yesterday and the signs are ominous for the other teams. Yesterday it was Ruturaj who was more aggressive of the two and when that happens the work for Faf gets that much easier. Faf Du Plessis can play long innings and if he can stay till the end, CSK will chase down any totals.
Dropping Manish Pandey didn’t work for Sunrisers Hyderabad and he was back in the playing XI yesterday. With Kane in the playing XI, it would make sense to play Manish in number 4 then his current slot of number 3. Yesterday it was Kane who gave the final touch to the Sunrisers’ innings and without him, they would have struggled to reach 160. Manish showed that he is in form it’s up to the team management how they use him properly. Manish is an experienced cricketer and if Sunrisers Hyderabad has to progress further in IPL 2021, he needs to play a stellar role in it.
The Misses:
Shardul Thakur made a name for himself by being a wicket-taker. He goes for runs most of the time but he takes a bag full of wickets too. This IPL season has been the opposite. He is going for runs and he not able to pick up wickets too. He was the weakest clog in CSK’s wheel yesterday and he got a pasting from Kane Williamson in the end. Right now CSK is winning so he might not come under scrutiny but I am very concerned with the form of 2 of our Brisbane heroes, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur because they are supposed to play important roles in the upcoming T20 World Cup. I hope Shardul Thakur gets his act together soon. He is a very competitive cricketer and he knows how to come back from tough situations. Here’s hoping for a grand comeback for Thakur Saab.
David Warner scored another 50 in IPL cricket. No one has scored more half-centuries than David Warner in IPL history. So scoring a 50 is like a habit for this Australian opener and Sunrisers’ captain. But the way he scored those runs yesterday made a lot of difference. He was unable to time the ball and hardly got any power behind his strokes. 57 runs off 55 balls is not something anyone expects from Warner and he admitted that candidly after the match. If SRH needs to turn around this campaign, Warner needs to play freely at the top.
With Natarajan and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar sitting out due to injuries, there is too much pressure on Rashid Khan. Cricket is a team sport and one bowler can’t win you matches. He did pick up 3 wickets but the other bowlers struggled to make an impact. Sunrisers Hyderabad needs to look at their balance. After all, right now they are suffering because they are unable to blend young with the old properly.
What to look forward to?
CSK looks like a well-oiled machine and I do not foresee any changes going forward. MS Dhoni never liked chopping and changing much and I will not be surprised if this same XI continues playing right through. With Ngidi they have a good pace bowler too. They have great balance in the side with Shardul Thakur coming in at number 9 and 7 bowling options.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad they have reached a stage from where they need to win a few matches consistently. For that to happen they need to make some changes in their lineup. Here is a suggestion which they can look into going forward.
Suggested Playing XI: David Warner, Priyam Garg, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jhadav, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
This lineup ensures more balance and gets some experience in the bowling lineup. I am suggesting Kedar Jhadav keep wickets. I am not sure what’s the injury status of Bhubaneshwar Kumar and I think his availability is crucial for Sunrisers Hyderabad. A competitive Sunrisers Hyderabad will be great for IPL in the next few weeks.
What do you think – will Sunrisers Hyderabad be able to turn this around?
Do write in as we get into a doubleheader today with Mumbai Indians meeting Rajasthan Royals at the Kotla in the afternoon and then later in the evening its KKR vs Delhi Capitals in Ahmedabad.
PS. Count the “Thank You” more than the “Rupees” in your bank account.
After the toss, one of the commentators declared that the first round goes to Rishabh Pant. Toss seemed to be a deciding factor after the previous match in Ahmedabad which was heavily affected due to the dew. In fact, the ground was feeling like an astroturf pitch day before yesterday. But we can’t control nature, can we? As luck would have it, there was no dew yesterday and in fact, there was a sandstorm before the chase started and I guess it worked in RCB’s favour.
When a team starts winning close encounters, you can very well guess that luck is on their side, and to be frank you do need a bit of luck to win tournaments like IPL.
Delhi Capitals were coming off a super over win against Sunrisers Hyderabad whereas RCB were smarting from the loss against CSK – was it CSK or was it Jadeja? RCB on their part took it like a freaking show by Jadeja and hence didn’t put too much pressure on themselves. When you are in a roll, your body language changes and that’s reflecting on Virat Kohli too because after a long time RCB is looking like the team to beat.
But Delhi Capitals are no pushovers and it was a game that I looked forward to because one thing was sure and that was we would see a great match of cricket. And that’s exactly how it panned out as RCB beat Delhi Capitals by 1 run. The thrillers are back in IPL and with all the doom and gloom outside, it’s not bad that our minds are kept diverted for a few hours. So what were the hits and misses from yesterday’s match? Let’s have a look.
The hits:
I find it so difficult to believe that AB DeVilliers doesn’t play any form of cricket other than IPL. You can practice for hours but there is no better practice than match practice. With so less match time under his belt, I wonder how he keeps belting out unbelievable batting performances match after match. I don’t think I have ever seen an out-of-form AB. If there is one international cricketer whom I love and respect after Sangakkara and Gilchrist then it’s AB DeVilliers. Yesterday close to 60 runs were scored by RCB in the last 5 overs and AB contributed 50 of them. He was the difference between an average score and an above-average score and finally, the winning margin was only 1 run so you can imagine those last over hitting made all the difference for RCB.
Shimron Hetmeyer is one of the most talented cricketers from the West Indies. But he has a big problem when it comes to consistency. The day he is in form, you just love seeing him bat but he hardly follows that with a few more and generally falters in the next match. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the upcoming matches but yesterday Delhi Capitals were down and out when he changed the complexion of the match single-handedly. It sounds difficult to believe that he outscored Rishabh Pant but the fact is Pant was struggling against the same bowlers, in the same pitch where Hetmeyer was going hammer and tongs! He brought the equation down to 14 runs off the last over – an over where he didn’t get much of the strike and Delhi Capitals finally lost by one run. Both Hetmeyer and Pant got half-centuries though Hetmeyer got it in 23 balls to bring Delhi Capitals back to the match. The disappointment was writ large on the faces of Pant and Hetmeyer after the last ball was bowled and quite understandably so because it was a case of so near yet so far. I am sure we will see some more fireworks from these talented youngsters in the days to come.
This year we are seeing some fantastic bowling performances by uncapped Indian pace bowlers. Avesh Khan is one of them. He has been consistent right from the first match and he continued doing so yesterday too. He has upped his pace and his line has been immaculate. He is getting some prize scalps too. Recently he got the wicket of MS Dhoni and yesterday he got the better of Virat Kohli.
The misses
Kagiso Rabada was the highest wicket-taker last season but he is a pale shadow of that Rabada from UAE. He is missing the length consistently and is going for runs. Yesterday he was not asked to bowl in the death but he still went for plenty. It won’t be a bad idea for Delhi Capitals to rest him and play Nortje or Woakes in a few upcoming matches.
Virat Kohli must be thinking about what’s going on. A couple of years back he used to come to the crease only to score centuries and today it’s so different with him struggling to score half-centuries. The funny part is that he is not struggling on the crease. Till the time he is batting he is looking in form and then he plays a false shot and gets out. It’s something in the mind and India and RCB must be hoping that we all get to see the old run machine back amongst us! Will it happen before the IPL gets over? Let’s wait and watch.
Steve Smith is clearly struggling to adapt to Indian conditions and more so with T20 cricket. Gone are the days when he used to make up the slow start with big finishes. Delhi Capitals need a player at number 3 who can play till the end and that’s not happening. I think it would make sense to replace him with a local player like Vishnu Vinod or Lalit Yadav going forward. The absence of Shreyas Iyer is hurting them a lot and it’s important they get their team combination right otherwise it can be troublesome for them towards the end of the tournament.
What to look forward to?
Washington Sundar seems to be struggling this year and it won’t be a bad idea to rest him for a while and get Shahbaz Ahmed to play instead. Rajat Patidar looked good and so Finn Allen has to wait for his debut. I think Siraj is still a work in progress when it comes to death overs bowling and hence I would like to see Daniel Sam’s bowling at the death. Siraj is superb with the new ball and it won’t be a bad idea to bowl him 3 overs initially with the final over around the 15th or 16th over. They don’t need much tinkering with the team because their core team is playing well and once Virat Kohli starts scoring this team will become unbeatable.
For Delhi Capitals they need a few changes in their batting and bowling personnel. I would love to see Lalit Yadav back in place of Steve Smith and it would be good to get Chris Woakes back in place of Amit Mishra. Rabada should be rested and Nortje should be a given a chance. Will they make so many changes after a couple of misfirings? It would be interesting to see.
All in all both Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore are all set to go to the playoffs. Only a miracle from some other teams can change this script. And if that happens we are in for some great cricket in the next couple of weeks.
What do you think should be the playing XI for Delhi Capitals? Do write in as we move to Delhi tonight where Chennai Superkings take on Sunrisers Hyderabad.
PS. Adversity brings the best out of us. In this doom and gloom that’s surrounding us, it’s heartening to see how citizens from all walks of life coming together and helping each other in whatever way they can. Yes, we shouldn’t have reached this stage. Yes, the system failed us. Yes, the people who are supposed to protect us are giving excuses but finally, it’s our life and we should be careful and we should take care of our well-being. If you can help please help but most importantly don’t let your guard down. This pandemic is not going away in a hurry. So take care and be safe.
Talent is overrated! Skills get underrated!
Confused? Let me explain.
I have seen people saying, “That person is very talented” but I hardly see people saying, “That person is very skillful”!
All of us are born with some talent. But to succeed you need to practice and improve your skills. Your talent gets converted to skills only through practice.
As a child when we are told, “good boy”, our brain gets a false signal that we are great and then we stop thinking and stop doing things that can actually help us become great. So, never allow such false signals to enter your brain.
All of us are talented but not all are skillful. As I said above, only with practice you can hone your skills which then does justice to your talent.
For example, you may write well but if you do not write and publish content regularly then it’s a wasted talent. I have seen many middle-aged people being regretful that they didn’t follow their passion at the right time. So do not allow that to happen to you. Always do what you love to do. And if you start that at an early age your chance of success improves.
I have seen many talented individuals not reaching their true potential. Most of the time the blame would be on the individual though most do not accept that fact.
Winners never give excuses. Losers do.
Have you ever seen a successful person blaming their luck if they fail in any activity? No, because they learn from their failures, and learning from failures will only start when you stop giving excuses for your failures. You need to accept that you failed and then you need to look into the reasons and thereafter you will find a way to overcome that failure.
Let’s take the example of Vinod Kambli. Both Vinod Kambli and Sachin Tendulkar came to be known to the cricketing world together after their world record partnership of 664 runs in school cricket. From there Sachin got selected to the Indian team within 3 years whereas Kambli got selected after 7 years. By the time Kambli got into the Indian team, Sachin was already an established batsman but that didn’t stop him from trying to improve his game. Kambli in the meanwhile scored back-to-back double centuries in his 3rd and 4th Test match and immediately got into a self-gratification mode. What happened thereafter was that Kambli lost his place in the Indian team in 1997 whereas Sachin carried on and finally retired in 2013.
Talent-wise both Sachin and Kambli were no less than each other at the age of 14 years but one kept on practicing and improving whereas the other got self-gratified and didn’t practice enough to plug the loopholes in his batting and finished with an unfulfilled career.
Now let’s think of Anil Kumble. He was in his first series in England in 1990 when he dropped a catch and didn’t do great with the ball too. Kapil Dev told him that he will be surprised if he will have a long career with India. How wrong was he? Because Anil Kumble kept working hard and he not only went on to beat Kapil’s record in picking up maximum test wickets for India – he keeps holding that record even after 13 years of his retirement.
Talent can get you to a certain level but to be successful it’s the skills that take you far. And one needs to consistently work on his or her skills because if you don’t, someone else will come in from behind and push you back. So how do we do that?
- Honing your skills.
First, ask this question yourself. What are you good at? You only can answer this question. If you are good at writing then you need to write daily and you need to read daily. You need to read because you will learn more perspectives and it will help you become a better writer.
Be a creator as well as a consumer.
2. Consistent.
You need to practice your skill daily. Each day you need to write. Do not think or rather overthink if it’s good or bad. Write for yourself. Writing will de-clutter your mind. Initially other than a couple of people others won’t even read your content. Doesn’t matter. Keep going. Keep writing every day. Write a blog. Then take that blog and convert it into multiple tweets or LinkedIn posts. Write LinkedIn articles. Just keep writing.
3. DOTS
Do One Thing Surely. For me it’s writing so I make sure that I give 2-3 hours every day on writing. Do this daily for more than 3 years and you will see results coming in. Do not get a false hope if you get a lot of traction in 6 months because the keyword is consistent. Even on your worse days, you should show up. This is your passion so you don’t need external motivation.
4. Power of 1%
Keep improving by 1% daily. You are your own competitor and hence you need to be a better version of yourself than you were yesterday. It’s far better to compete with yourself than competing or comparing yourself to others. Think of Sergei Bubka – the man broke his own record 34 times. The rest of the field used to compete for the silver medal whereas Bubka was busy breaking his own records. This is only possible if you remain humble, stay grounded and believe in the power of 1%.
Do not get into a false hope or do not send signals to your brain that because you are talented your life will be set. Nothing is set because we are all talented. But talent doesn’t get food to the table – Skills do. And hence you need to keep developing your skills.
Only when you turn your talent into your skill then you will find fulfillment in your life.
What you are good at and what you love to do is your purpose and passion in life – That’s your talent.
Now convert this talent into meaningful skills by consistently working on it to make yourself skillful and once you have reached there, don’t get too satisfied, rather be happy with what you have achieved but at the same time keep working on it so that you keep getting better every day.
As I said above, what you love to do is your “Purpose“
And what you are good at is your “Passion“.
These 2 Ps are your “Talent“.
Now, after this what you get paid for is your “Profession“. That’s the 3rd “P” of your life. And you get paid only when you convert your talent into skills.
Think of a cricketer:
He “loves” playing cricket (his purpose in life).
He is “good at” playing cricket (his passion).
He “gets paid for” playing cricket (his profession).
When all these 3Ps come together, you will find a person having a fulfilling life.
I believe all of us, have it in us, to find these 3 Ps in life. You just need to travel back in time (in your mind) a few years and ask yourself, “What used to make you happy”. Now, try and do those activities once again – the things which used to make you happy – but you have stopped doing – and you will find that you will have fewer regrets going forward.
Success is not measured by the amount of bank balance you have – it is measured by what you give back to society and how much happy you are with your life. You will be truly happy only when all the 3 Ps are in sync.
So what are you waiting for? Have you found the 3 Ps or do you need help in finding your 3 Ps? Do write in if you think I can be of any help.
Kolkata Knight Riders after losing 4 matches in a row needed a change of fortunes when they met Punjab Kings yesterday in Ahmedabad. A change of venue was a good omen for them and it started well with Eoin Morgan winning the toss. For Punjab Kings, it has been a topsy turvy season with 2 wins and 3 losses thus far. Looking at KKR’s performance they must have been silently confident in winning their third match of the season.
But as IPL has shown us over the years things hardly go according to script and that’s exactly what happened yesterday with KKR coming out trumps and in the process improved their Net Run Rate too.
Let’s look at the hits and misses from yesterday’s match.
The Hits:
Prasidh Krishna has had a very underwhelming IPL 2021 thus far. He was going for a lot of runs and mostly due to the length that he had been bowling. Yesterday he was quite conscious of that and kept the ball just short of length not allowing the batsmen to free their arms. This not only helped him to keep the boundaries at bay but it also helped him to pick up 3 wickets. It was his best performance this year and I hope he remains consistent for the rest of the season.
Shivam Mavi has yet to fire for KKR. His economy rate is high and he doesn’t take wickets too. KKR has invested a lot of time in the three young bowlers, Prasidh, Mavi, and Nagarkoti and it was time for them to return the favour. Mavi bowled well in the last match and he continued in the same fashion yesterday too. The biggest plus has been that he is not going for runs which means he is controlling his length and line to perfection. You need a bit of luck when it comes to wickets but that will come if you remain consistent. Yesterday he went for just 19 runs in 4 overs and took the wicket of Chris Gayle too. He bowled three overs in the power play so I must admit that it was a great bowling performance. I hope like Prasidh Krishna it works as a confidence booster for him and I look forward to him taking a few wickets in the upcoming matches.
At 17/3, KKR’s chase looked doomed. Yes, the target was only 124 runs but the KKR middle order had hardly scored any runs in the earlier matches. One man who has been somewhat consistent is Rahul Tripathi. He along with Eoin Morgan set out building a match-winning partnership yesterday. It was heartening to see Morgan back in form. He struggled with his timing but as the innings progressed he seemed to be getting his confidence back. An in-form Morgan can make a huge difference to KKR and the team can hope that it’s the start of some big scores in the future. Some dodgy running kept the viewers’ pulse racing but the useful 40s by both these batsmen took KKR home yesterday.
I was highly surprised when I kept seeing Ravi Bishnoi on the bench in the first 4 matches. He is an extremely talented bowler and I believe he has the best Googly among all contemporary Indian leg spinners. Punjab Kings got him in the playing XI in their last match and he had an impact straight away. Yesterday with heavy dew in the ground I thought he might struggle but how wrong was I. He gave away just 19 runs in his 4 overs. Though he didn’t pick up any wickets he could have easily had a couple because on many occasions the batsmen were unable to read his googlies properly. His moment of the match came in the field though when he pulled off an absolutely stunning catch to dismiss Sunil Naraine.
The Misses :
Shubhman Gill and Nitish Rana found another innovative way to get out yesterday thereby extending their bad form. Rana guided a slow full toss to the short extra cover fielder while Gill missed a straight delivery playing across the line. It has been a very disappointing performance from Gill in this tournament and I find it hard to understand the reason. Cricket is played a lot in the mind and I think this extended run of low scores is now playing in his mind. He is playing well in the nets as per David Hussey so I guess he is just one innings away from getting his form back. KKR must be hoping that he gets there quickly.
KL Rahul is not playing to his strengths and I guess it’s better for him to come at number 4 going forward. He struggled as an opener in the T20 series against England and it’s been an extension of sorts in IPL. He got back to run making form against England when he was pushed down the order. It won’t be a bad idea to try that in IPL too. In Chris Gayle, they have a ready-made opener so it won’t harm the team at all if he plays at number 4. His struggle at the top is harming the team because the momentum needs to be built in the power play which Punjab Kings is unable to do.
Nicholas Pooran is having a very bad tournament thus far. With the intensity lacking in the power plays it’s becoming troublesome for Punjab Kings in the middle overs with Pooran completely out of form. Yesterday he had the opportunity to build a long innings but he failed again. I think it won’t be a bad idea to replace him with Dawid Malan from the next match.
Pat Cummins had made a habit of taking wickets in the power play when the tournament was held in UAE last year. This season it has been completely different and he has been struggling with his length and line. Yesterday he did pick the wicket of KL Rahul in the power play but his line and length was not consistent enough. Punjab Kings scored 123 runs and Cummins gave away 31 of them. That’s a pretty ordinary economy rate considering the Punjab batsmen were struggling against all the bowlers. KKR needs Cummins to pick up wickets and till the time that happens they will keep struggling.
What to look forward to?
I think Punjab Kings need to make some changes in their batting order. Just trying to improve balance and picking Moises Henriques doesn’t make sense and it’s not working for them too. Here is my preferred playing XI for the next match.
Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Dawid Malan, KL Rahul, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Jhye Richardson, MD. Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh.
For KKR the win gets them back to the middle of the table but problems remain at the top of the order. They have too many players who are slow movers in the field and I think they need a change in the top order. I think they should replace Nitish Rana with Venkatesh Iyer. Also, it makes sense to open with Naraine and push Gill to number 3.
What do you think? Will the number 3 position suit Gill better or should he continue opening for KKR?
Do write in as we await the blockbuster match of the season when RCB meets Delhi Capitals later in the evening!
PS. Donation is a private matter. It’s said that when you donate from the right pocket – the left pocket should not know. So if you are donating for a cause you need not let the world know. But, if you can please donate with whatever you can. The country needs you and this is the time to show that you care.
Just the other day, I was telling my son that the IPL of 2021 is having too many one-sided encounters. Yes, he has been treated to some great batting and bowling performances but for the neutral viewers with most matches not going into the final over, it was kind of boring.
IPL over the years has been synonymous with close encounters with most matches getting decided in the final over. A couple of matches this season have been thrillers but most have been too one-sided. The last few days we saw one after another match turning out to be real duds. It was not supposed to be that way because all the 8 teams are equally matched but with many players not being in good form, some teams have hardly been competitive.
Finally, we got our first “tie” of the season yesterday when Delhi Capitals played Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai. It didn’t look so going into the last 2 overs but some lusty blows by Sujith at the end gave us our first Super Over of the season. One super over might not have been enough because Delhi Capitals just made it in the last delivery and we got to remember that Sunrisers lost a run because David Warner ran a centimetre short in the super over.
So what were the hits and misses from yesterday’s match? Let’s have a look.
The hits:
Kane Williamson brings in a lot of stability in the Sunrisers’ middle order. The team has an inexperienced middle order and his presence makes a world of difference to this team. Yesterday it was Williamson who held the team together after the early loss of David Warner. With him, in the crease, the other batsmen could play more freely. It’s a different matter that their batsmen faltered once again and an easy chase got botched up in the middle overs by losing too many wickets. That the match went up to the super over in the end was only possible because Kane Williamson was there till the very end.
We are seeing a different avatar of Prithvi Shaw this season. I love watching him bat because he plays some breathtaking shots while he is in the crease. I have hardly ever seen him getting bogged down and it’s been lovely watching him bat this season. The first three balls of the match were dispatched to the boundary yesterday and it was a run out at the end which saw him getting dismissed after scoring a half-century.
It was great to see Axar Patel back in the team. He had a great season in the test matches and his straighter deliveries got him a lot of wickets in both Chennai and Ahmedabad earlier this year. The straighter deliveries were once again difficult to pick and he finished with 2/26 in his quota of 4 overs.
Avesh Khan has been a revelation this season. He has picked up the pace but most importantly he is maintaining a good line and length. He has bowled in the power plays and he has bowled at the death too but on all occasions, he has come out trumps. The best thing is that he is picking up wickets too. Yesterday he picked up three and he is now one of the top wicket-takers this season. IPL 2021 has been good for the Indian players thus far with Indian uncapped bowlers leading the purple cap race.
When the super over started, I was surprised to see David Warner coming out to bat with Kane Williamson. If there was one man who looked in great touch, it was Johny Bairstow and hence I was astonished to see that he didn’t come out to bat. He had scored 38 runs off just 18 balls and it defied logic why he was not preferred instead of David Warner. That one wrong decision probably cost Sunrisers the match.
The Misses:
Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jhadav are supposed to hold the middle order together for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Priyam Garg and Abdul Samad are warming the benches only because they lack experience but the experience didn’t help yesterday because both Shankar and Jhadav failed miserably and Sunrisers were put under further stress with them not been able to score boundaries.
With Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Natarajan not available due to injuries, it was important for Khaleel Ahmed to play a leading role. Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate the form that he showed in the previous match which meant that Delhi Capitals were never under pressure other than when Rashid Khan bowled. With Siddarth Kaul also struggling, Sunrisers were unable to get breakthroughs in the middle or death overs. The fielding and especially the catching was a lot to be desired too.
Sunrisers’ decision to play Sujith turned out to be a good one because he bowled economically and with the bat his 14 off 6 balls helped Sunrisers tie the match.
What to look forward to?
Delhi Capitals have been playing very consistently throughout the season but they have some weaknesses which have not been exposed yet by other teams and one of them is their not-so-strong middle order. With Ashwin leaving the IPL midway, it would be interesting to see who replaces him going forward. I would suggest Lalit Yadav come back in place of Ashwin because it strengthens their batting order too. Rabada’s form is a cause for concern and I would live to see Woakes or Nortje coming back into the playing XI.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad it’s back to square one and going by the current form, it’s looking highly difficult for them to get into the top 4. Like Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders the inexperienced players are not playing to their potential and this, in turn, is putting more pressure on the senior players. If the senior international players don’t play as per their potential I do not think any of these 3 teams will progress to the playoffs.
This situation is not good for IPL because it effectively makes it a 5 team tournament. I hope I am proved wrong in the future matches and these bottom-rung teams come up with some stellar performances.
So what do you think – will Sunrisers be able to make a comeback in the tournament? What changes would you suggest?
Please write in as we move to Ahmedabad today where KKR takes on Punjab Kings in the evening.
PS. You are on your own journey so don’t compare with others instead make your life worth remembering.
In a long and grueling tournament like the IPL, momentum matters a lot. Both RCB and CSK were on a roll with one winning 4 matches In a row and the other winning 3. When both these teams met each other at the Wankhede yesterday one of them had to lose but what was important was the manner of the loss. A close encounter doesn’t matter that much when you are on a winning momentum but a big defeat can change the entire perspective! On paper, RCB looked a much better team but they tinkered with their lineup comprising their batting! It was not a very good idea but the false promise that their top order is in good form led to such a decision. Sometimes such decisions can hurt you and unfortunately for RCB that’s how it turned out to be. But to be fair to them it was a one-man show yesterday. Ravindra Jadeja could do no wrong yesterday and the once-in-a-generation cricketer demolished RCB single-handedly.
His performance yesterday was such that you don’t have much to write about the players! So what were the hits and misses from yesterday’s match?
Let’s have a look.
The Hits:
At 154/4 at the end of the 19th over with Jadeja on 26 runs off 21 balls it looked like an average score at the Wankhede. Harshal Patel had the ball who till that time had figures of 3/14 in his 3 overs. In a space of 6 balls (7 due to the No Ball) the momentum shifted completely with Jadeja hitting 37 runs including 5 sixes to power CSK to 191 runs. An average score became a winning score and the great bowling figures of Harshal Patel lay in tatters. RCB had earmarked Harshal as death over specialist and till yesterday he had been a revelation. But yesterday he missed the length and Jadeja got the balls on his zone, was able to free his arms, and connected marvellously to hit those towering sixes.
That one over turned the match on its head but Jadeja was not done for the day. There is a reason why he is considered one of the world’s top all-rounders and he was almost unplayable with the ball in hand. Maxwell and AB DeVilliers were left flummoxed by the turn and bounce and he ended with figures of 3/13 in 4 overs. In the post-match press conference, Virat Kohli couldn’t suppress his excitement on this magical performance because he knows how vital Jadeja is for Team India if he has to hold the T20 World Cup in his hands.
If there is an example of a three-dimensional cricketer then you don’t need to look beyond Jadeja. He was terrific in the field too, affecting a direct hit to see the back of Daniel Christian. What a day for Daniel Christian because it was he who dropped Jadeja when he was on zero. In hindsight that drop cost RCB the match.
Moeen Ali was injured yesterday and hence CSK had to do some adjustments to their lineup. They brought in Dwayne Bravo in place of Moeen Ali and got Imran Tahir replacing Ngidi. Ngidi had a good match against KKR picking up 3 wickets but yesterday being a day match, CSK smartly got an extra spinner to make use of the dry conditions. I thought that Tahir should be a permanent fixture in the CSK playing XI because he is a wicket-taking option for them. Though he only took the wickets of the tailenders yesterday he kept his end tight even in his first spell. 2/16 in 4 overs should see him getting a few more matches. The Jadeja effect brushed on to him too as he ran out Kyle Jamieson with a direct hit.
Faf Du Plessis was Mr. Consistent for CSK last season. The team was losing matches but Faf kept scoring runs. The habit of scoring runs has continued unabated this year too and looking at him bat I sometimes wonder why did he retire from international cricket. I believe both he and AB still has a couple of years of international cricket left in them and I hope to see them in the T20 World Cup later this year. Another day and another half-century for Faf Du Plessis.
The Misses
Navdeep Saini has lost his place in the team with the rise of MD. Siraj. With Harshal Patel getting wickets consistently it’s getting even more difficult for him to get into the XI. Yesterday RCB replaced Shahbaz Ahmed with Navdeep Saini but it backfired. Saini had no control over his line and length and it was he who allowed the CSK batsmen to keep up with the run rate when the others squeezed from the other end. It was a very disappointing performance from him and could see him back to the benches in the next match.
RCB is having a problem with its spinners. Yuzvendra Chahal is nowhere close to where he was a couple of years back. From being the go-to man for Virat Kohli he now doesn’t even complete his quota of 4 overs. Washington Sundar seems to be struggling too and his struggle is in the mind because his fielding and batting both have been a letdown this season. It won’t be a bad idea to rest him for a few matches. Probably fatigue has set in after a long international season. These bio-bubbles are not helping too. From the outside, we might think that these cricketers are very secured inside these bio-bubbles but the fact is it can cause tremendous damage to mental sanity. And young players can suffer from mental fatigue. I am not sure what’s the case with Sundar but he seems to be struggling.
Virat Kohli has not been in big run-scoring form for more than a year now. A man known for scoring centuries and for being consistent has lost that magical touch. In the last match when after getting in he started playing those lovely off drives, I felt our captain is back but he was once again out for a low score yesterday. It was Devdutt Padikkal who kept the scoreboard moving as Virat struggled. I hope we get the old Virat back before IPL ends this season.
What to look forward to?
RCB lost their first match of the season. It must not bother them much because it was a one-man demolition show but they need to make sure that they get their combination right and don’t allow the loss to play too much on their minds. It’s not a bad idea to play Finn Allen in place of Daniel Christian who has been struggling. They have many bowling options so this change won’t hurt them much.
For CSK they are looking like the old champion team which was a synonym to IPL. They have wonderful balance in the team and most of their players seem to be in decent form. CSK will be in the playoffs surely. When the tournament started I didn’t think it would happen and now if it doesn’t happen then I will be surprised!
Will this loss hurt RCB too much? Will it affect them mentally? Or will they treat it as an aberration and move on? Let’s wait and watch as the scene moves to Ahmedabad from today where Punjab Kings take on the struggling Knight Riders!
PS. Positivity attracts positivity! So keep spreading love and happiness! Together we will beat this pandemic. Keep wearing the mask at all times and get vaccinated as soon as possible.
One aspect which is common between Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad is the number of inexperienced players in their setup. In a long tournament like IPL, the experienced ones in the respective teams must play consistently well to compensate for the inexperience if the team needs to reach the playoffs. If you look at the points table this season all these 3 teams are struggling and one of the reasons being their experienced players have not been consistent enough. Out of these 3 teams, KKR is struggling the most because all their experienced players have let them down. Morgan, Cummins, Naraine, Gill, and Russell have been a pale shadow of their usual self.
Rajasthan Royals have been let low by a spate of injuries to their experienced international players and both Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer are irreplaceable. To the team’s credit, some of their uncapped players have played well namely, Chetan Sakariya and Riyan Parag. Jaydev Unadkat has also bowled well though he is not an uncapped player. But you need consistency if you have to win IPL and that’s quite understandably missing from both KKR and Rajasthan Royals.
These two table laggards met each other at Wankhede yesterday and it was an opportunity for both the teams to get their campaign back on track.
We have had some very one-sided matches over the last two days and what I expected at the very least was a highly competitive encounter. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and it was a real pain to watch the match which was low in quality with bad batting and even worse fielding especially by KKR.
So what were the hits and misses from yesterday’s match? Let’s have a look.
The Hits:
When Rajasthan Royals won their first match of the season it was Chris Morris who did the star turn for them. He is a very underrated all-rounder and I sometimes wonder why he is not considered for South Africa. Yesterday he was back once again claiming 4 wickets and played a prime role in helping Rajasthan keep KKR to a very manageable total of 133 runs. Two wins for Rajasthan Royals and both the times it’s been Chris Morris who was adjudicated as the man of the match.
Sanju Samson generally ends up losing his wicket when he tries to be overly aggressive at the start of the innings. Yesterday the asking run rate was very less and this meant he didn’t need to be aggressive at all and it worked in his favour. He curbed down his attacking instincts and played a matured innings to take the team home. I hope he understands that he need not play too aggressively at the start because once he is set he can be very dangerous at the end and that’s what he needs to focus on.
The only bright spot for KKR yesterday was the bowling performances of Shivam Mavi and Varun Chakravarthy. To be fair to Varun he has been very consistent with his bowling this season. He is now the primary bowler of the team and it’s kind of funny for KKR who has Pat Cummins and Sunil Naraine in their ranks. It just shows the non-performance of KKR’s star players this season. Mavi got his first opportunity yesterday and he bowled with a decent pace. He went for just 19 runs in his 4 overs which was a good return considering the pitch and ground conditions at Wankhede. Will he be consistent? Only time will tell.
The misses:
The KKR top order has been a big letdown this season. Shubhman Gill is considered the most talented batsman among all the youngsters in the country. But his performance after the Brisbane test has been highly disappointing. He is unable to play in the gaps. Leg side half volleys are not being put away. And now he is having a horrid time in the field too missing catches and letting go of boundaries easily. For KKR to turn around this campaign Gill would need to get his act together.
The two high-profile foreign recruits for KKR, Pat Cummins and Eoin Morgan have been in horrible form, to say the least. For KKR to be competitive both of them have to be leading the charts but they have failed miserably. Cummins is a very different bowler in test match cricket but when it comes to T20 he invariably struggles particularly at the death. It won’t be a bad idea to rest him for a couple of matches and try out Ben Cutting or Lockie Ferguson.
Rahul Tewatia is a pale shadow of 2020. He is neither picking up wickets with the ball nor he is playing those hard-hitting innings with the bat. There is still time in the tournament for him to show his heroics and I hope to see him play some stellar knocks soon.
What to look forward to?
KKR needs to make some changes in their playing XI at least for the next two matches. The current set of players looks jaded so it won’t be a bad idea to try a few new players in the next two matches. The team is already languishing at the bottom of the table and the good thing is that it can’t get any worse. So if they want to make some changes it has to be now.
T20 is a very fast-paced game and KKR needs to stop backing players who are not physically 100% fit. They can’t fall any further so give a chance to the benched players who are fitter than the ones who are in the playing XI currently. Play Tim Seifert as the wicketkeeper and allow Dinesh Karthick to play as a pure batsman. DK is one of the fittest players in the tournament and is a terrific outfielder. Here is my wish for the playing XI in the next match.
Venkatesh Iyer, Tim Seifert, Rahul Tripathi, Shubhman Gill, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthick, Ben Cutting, Lockie Ferguson, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, and Varun Chakravarthy.
Rajasthan Royals, have done well within their limitations. They will find it difficult to reach the top 4 but they can beat some good teams because they have a couple of match-winners in Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler who can win matches single-handedly. Teams like Rajasthan Royals and KKR will be party busters for the middle rung teams and when they start winning matches the tournament will get more exciting.
At the moment with a raging pandemic crippling our nation these one-sided matches are not helping in keeping our mind away from the tragedy. High time we get some close encounters and I hope the two matches today will give us that.
I am most excited to watch RCB vs CSK in the afternoon but the match thereafter is no less interesting where Delhi Capitals take on Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Will we see some upsets happening today?
BTW, we are amidst a raging pandemic so keep your masks on and try and get vaccinated as soon as possible. Together we will get over this soon!
PS. Laughter is the best medicine. When you are down and feeling demotivated, pick up the phone and call one of your close friends who can help you detox. There is no better relationship than friends so be thankful to have them in your life.
One of the major differences between IPL and other Cricket leagues across the world has been the quality of cricket. Over the years we have been entertained every evening through IPL. Unfortunately, we are seeing a meltdown this year. And one of the reasons for that has been the quality of cricket that’s being dished out over the last few days.
I believe it’s happening due to two reasons:
- The pitches in Chennai has been horrible where stroke-making is extremely difficult
- Too many matches are being affected due to dew.
Dew is not controllable but they should change the ball every 3 overs whenever the umpires see that the ball is getting too wet. The toss should not decide the fate of the match in T20 cricket.
The pitches were controllable and I am highly disappointed with the slow and low conditions of Chennai which has made them look like 3rd-day test pitches.
Mumbai Indians Vs Punjab Kings ideally should have been a high-scoring one with both teams possessing some great stroke makers. But what we were dished out was an insipid game of slow and painful batting performance. In the end, Punjab Kings won by 9 wickets with 14 balls to spare but as could be seen, it was not easy going for them. Mumbai Indians missed a trick by not playing Piyush Chawla because the way the match panned out, another leg spinner could have made a difference for them.
Let’s look at the hits and misses from yesterday’s match.
The Hits:
Ravi Bishnoi has been a surprising omission from the Punjab Kings playing XI this season. I was kept wondering why. Last season he was one of their top performers and it was great to see him back. He has come back with a strange bowling action but the googlies had the same zip as last year. For a leg spinner, he has amazing control on line and length and he got rich dividends from the same too. Mumbai Indians was slowly getting their innings back on track when he got Surya Kumar Yadav out to bring Punjab Kings back into the game. 2/21 in 4 overs should be convincing enough for the team management to persist with him in the future matches.
KL Rahul has been highly criticised this season for his slow batting but this was one match where no one complained because Punjab Kings had only 132 runs to chase. A good solid half-century to take his team home must be highly satisfying for him. With Chris Gayle in company, the chase was never out of control. With no run rate pressure, it was a good professional chase by the duo.
Rohit Sharma along with Surya Kumar Yadav has been the only two batters from Mumbai Indians who have looked in form. And it was once left to both of them to take the team to a decent total. Till the time they were in the crease, Mumbai Indians looked all set to score 150+ but as soon as both of them lost their wickets it fizzled out. Rohit on his part scored his first half-century of the season.
Md. Shami had a rough time in the last match going for plenty of runs. I was interested to see how he comes back yesterday. Thankfully he didn’t disappoint and his usual line and length was back proving the last match to be an aberration. 2/21 in 4 overs must be a huge relief for his team.
The misses:
Hardik Pandya is not fit enough to bowl and the way he is throwing balls underarm I have a feeling he is not 100% fit. His batting is nowhere close to what people expect him to do. He needs to put his head down and play himself in before playing balls in the air. His performance thus far has been one of the biggest disappointments this IPL.
Both Quinton De Kock and Ishan Kishan have been a disappointment for Mumbai Indians thus far. All have struggled to adjust to the slow and low conditions in Chennai. Mumbai must be very thankful that Sunrisers and KKR lost their matches from winning positions otherwise Mumbai would have been languishing right at the bottom of the table. It’s been their bowlers who have helped them garner 4 points and I hope a change of venue will do them a world of good going forward.
What to look forward to?
Playing Moises Henriques and Fabian Allen together seems to be a very defensive plan for Punjab Kings. I would prefer Chris Jordan to replace Allen in future matches. With Chris Jordan at number 8, their batting lineup will have good balance and he is terrific with the ball at the death. This one change can make a lot of difference to the team.
For Mumbai, they need to take some hard decisions and one of them should be to drop Quinton De Kock. In Ishan Kishan, they have a ready-made opener available and they can replace QDK with Jimmy Nisham who can slot into number 5. Even after this change, their fortunes can only change if Hardik Pandya gets them the runs. He is an important clog in Mumbai Indians’ wheel and frankly, they don’t have a like-for-like replacement. At the moment the team is way too dependent on Rohit and Surya Kumar Yadav which is not an ideal scenario for the defending champions.
I am still backing them to reach the playoffs but the next match is very important. They need a turnaround in their batting fortunes otherwise it can turn out to be a campaign to forget for Rohit Sharma.
What do you think? What changes do you foresee in the Mumbai Indians’ team?
Do write in as the bottom rung teams Rajasthan Royals and KKR meet each other today in Mumbai.
Stay Safe! Be atmanirbhar! You are on your own so take care of yourself and your family. Mask Up India!
PS. As a leader, you should be ready to take tough decisions. If you always take populist decisions then soon you and your organisation will suffer! People respect those who take decisions and inspire others to follow those decisions. Similarly, if decisions go wrong great leaders forthrightly accept their mistakes and change the course of action rather than hiding behind the decisions looking for scapegoats.
The gap between RCB and the other teams is expanding each passing day! Consistency has always been a bane for this team over the years but this season has been very different. The best part for them has been how various players have risen to the occasion thereby not putting extra pressure on Virat Kohli and AB DeVilliers. Another important point to note is that many Indian players have given match-winning performances over the last 4 matches.
I didn’t expect Rajasthan Royals to win against RCB yesterday but I didn’t expect them to lose the way they lost finally. 180 runs to chase looked like a walk in the park and we were treated to another one-sided contest at the Wankhede.
So let’s look at the hits and misses from yesterday’s match:
The Hits:
Devdutt Padikkal had a great Vijay Hazare trophy a few weeks ago. He and Prithvi Shaw were the eye-catchers in that tournament! I expected Padikkal to do well this year and finally, he came to the party yesterday scoring a great century off 52 balls. A strike rate of over 190 ensured that for the initial part of the chase, Virat Kohli was a spectator! Padikkal is a great find for India and I won’t be surprised if he gets selected to the Indian team later this year.
Virat Kohli has been in not-so-good form this season and it was good to see that he was playing himself in yesterday. With Padikkal going great guns, he could afford that too. Then midway through the innings, the swag was back. The cover drives were back and I could sense the old Virat Kohli back with a vengeance! Good that he didn’t get out yesterday and helped RCB win by 10 wickets. Yes, it was not a great bowling attack but such a sweet innings will hold him in good stead in future matches! It was clear that the good batting conditions at the Wankhede were being thoroughly enjoyed by both the openers of RCB.
Rajasthan Royals has been laid low by two of their main foreign recruits not playing in the IPL due to injuries. This has led to a situation where Jos Buttler along with David Miller and Sanju Samson has to do the bulk of the scoring. Siraj showed his class by picking up two of these 3 to put Rajasthan in the backfoot within the power play. Siraj is a completely different bowler after the Australia series. He has very good control and hardly misses the length. His only weakness is bowling in the death and yesterday his figures were distorted by the final over that he bowled when Rahul Tewatia unleashed some big shots. But the damage that Siraj caused to the Rajasthan’s top order in his first spell ensured that RCB didn’t need to chase a very big total. His Yorker to dismiss Miller was the best delivery of the match. Either way, 3/27 was a match-turning performance by Siraj.
At 18/3 it seemed to be game over for Rajasthan Royals and when Sanju got out it didn’t even feel like Rajasthan would be able to post a decent total. But thanks to Shivam Dube and Rahul Tewatia, Rajasthan Royals were able to post 177 runs which though under par felt like a decent total. Dube has been an underperformer in IPL but yesterday he looked set for a big score. He must be very disappointed that he couldn’t stay till the end. If he had done so, Rajasthan would have posted a far bigger total than what they did eventually. For Shivam Dube and Rahul Tewatia, it’s important for them that they hit big scores when they get the opportunity because it’s those match-turning innings that make the selectors look towards you. The 30s and 40s won’t take them there. I hope both of them play to their potential in the future.
The misses:
Sanju Samson will soon be known as Mr. Inconsistent. With the kind of talent he has, it’s quite disturbing to see the way he gets out. He is never out of form but he plays shots in the air, way too much at the start of the innings. Most of the time he gets out to such experiments and it’s high time he understands that. With Rajasthan missing the services of Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes it’s important for them that Sanju along with Jos Buttler plays big innings consistently. Otherwise, this team will keep struggling.
The form of Yuzvendra Chahal is disturbing me a lot. He used to be the go-to man for Virat Kohli previously and now he is unable to finish his quota of 4 overs. Indian cupboard is blank when it comes to wrist spinners and this is one department that could bite India hard in the World Cup later in the year. Can Chahal get his form back? I hope to get an answer by this tournament ends.
What to look forward to?
I expected Saini to play yesterday but Virat went with Kane Richardson. I hope Saini gets a chance in the next match because he is a very good talent though Siraj and Harshal Patel his pushed him to the bench.
This team is on a roll and I don’t think they need to make any changes. They will hope that their top order remains in form and I am sure if that happens then RCB will finally win the IPL for which they have been waiting for so long.
For Rajasthan Royals, I hope their experiment with Manan Vohra has ended. He has got enough chances with no returns. It’s high time they get Yashasvi Jaiswal in the top order. Also, I don’t think Shreyas Gopal is adding any value to the team. They should get Karthick Tyagi to replace him.
Will it solve their woes? I am not sure because for them to become competitive they would need Sanju and Buttler to play big innings consistently!
So what do you think? Will RCB win the IPL this year?
Do write in as Mumbai Indians take on Punjab Kings later in the evening at Chepauk.
PS. Never underestimate yourself. Yesterday Virat Kohli after winning the toss was seen taking a back seat and letting Sanju Samson decide what he wants to do completely forgetting that it was he who had the right to decide. After umpteen times losing the toss he is surprising himself by winning tosses. It was the most hilarious moment of the match.
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