IPL 11 is midway through its exhilarating journey, and very similar to the first couple of weeks of the event, continues to gift us with close finishes. This is perhaps the first season, where we as spectators are beginning to understand, that just like a required rate of 7 for the last 5 overs, is defendable in a run chase, similarly, a run rate of 13 in the last 5 overs, is something that is also achievable by the chasing team. Infact, RCB (the worst death bowling side in the tournament) has conceded runs at 13.4 runs per over in the last 5 overs on an average, in the 7 matches, they have played thus far.
So, as is the custom, demonstrated by my last 2 blogs at Analysis of Team Standings after Week 2
and Analysis of Team Standings after Week 1, the order in which the teams will be analysed, will be based on their position in the league table (after Match 29), right from the bottom.
Delhi Daredevils (DD) [P-7 W-2 L-5]
I remember the 2009 version of IPL, when IPL was in its 2nd year. That year, due to IPL colliding with elections, the entire tournament was shifted to the rainbow nation South Africa, in a notice of 3 weeks. After coming last in the 2008 version of IPL, RCB wanted to revive their campaign, by replacing Rahul Dravid, with the charismatic Kevin Pietersen at the helm of leadership. The move did little changes to the fortunes of RCB, as they managed to win only 2 out of their first 7 games, in IPL 2009. After, the first 7 games, KP got replaced by Kumble, as the leader and that suddenly brought wonders for RCB, in terms of results, as they won all their remaining games till the final, and finished 2nd best to Deccan Chargers Hyderabad. Considering the fact, that they were at the bottom position of the league table, after the fist half of the tournament, this was a stupendous result for the team. Will the same thing happen to DD, as Iyer replaces Gambhir? Only time will tell, but for now, they have begun well. The opening partnership has clicked with the prodigy 'Shaw' and the seasoned pro Munro, to exploit the powerplay overs. Iyer, Pant is looking in great touch and the bowling looks complete with Trent Boult and Avesh Khan to crank up the speedometers. However, in order to proceed to the playoffs, they need to win a minimum of 6 of their remaining 7 games, which means the margin for error will be very very low. Will, it be 'RCB 2009-2.0' let's wait and watch.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) [P-7 W-2 L-5]
The pain in Virat Kohli's eyes is becoming more and more evident, with every passing loss. For, a man, who has been used to nothing but winning, it is very difficult to digest losses, from supposedly winning positions. For, a leader, who is widely regarded, as one of the all time best. in Indian fielding repertoire, it is gut-wrenching to see easy catches put down by his team mates. For the last 5 years, for which Virat has been at the helm of RCB, there has been this one epidemic, that kills the campaign of the team every year, i.e. death bowling woes. Virat, has tries every other combination, he could at the death, but it is just never working out. RCB bowlers, went for 100 runs in their last 7 overs against CSK, as the legend himself MSD clobbered their bowling to all corners of the park. Southee, Siraj, Umesh, Anderson everyone has gone for runs at the death. The condition is so worse that Virat maybe soon looking at people in the stadium to deliver his death overs. Amidst all the bowling carnage, there is one small positive for RCB, except its top heavy batting order, and that is Siraj is gradually developing into a death overs bowler, which RCB has yearned for, for ages. But, considering they need to win 6 out of their remaining 7 games, there is no slip up, that RCB can afford anymore- for the moment, RCB's playoffs probability, looks slim.
Mumbai Indians (MI) [P-7 W-2 L-5]
MI, like the other 2 teams, below it, in the league table, find themselves, in troubled waters. The difference, is just that, MI has been in similar troubled waters before and they know, how to come out of it. While, that does not make the roads, to the playoffs, any easier, MI knows, what they need to do to turn the campaign around from this position. The relatively comfortable win against league toppers CSK, in their recent encounter, will do their confidence no harm. However, one thing is absolutely clear, that if MI needs to turn IPL 11 around, it has to be a Rohit Sharma show from here on. Rohit must get adequate balls to get himself in, such that, he can cash in, on the bowling, in the slog overs. That is why I felt, it was a wonderful decision for him, to come out at No 3, and guide the chase against CSK. In T20 matches, you simply get your best batsmen to play the maximum no. of balls, such that he can control the game from the top. Half way through the tournament, Rohit, it seems, has understood this trivial concept of T20 batting. While the good news for MI, is the consistency of Suryakumar, the bad news is Bumrah is not picking up wickets, as he used to do, so often for MI last season. By his standards, India's best death bowler, is having an average IPL, and for MI to have any chances to make it to the playoffs, Bumrah needs to find his lost rhythm. With 6 wins required form 7 matches, will it be another fairytale for Mumbai from here on? Let us hope so, as it spices up the tournament.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) [P-7 W-3 L-4]
If RR is not going through to the playoffs, this season, it has to be attributed to the worst possible captaincy of Rahane. Royals. have every possible resource at their disposal. A seam bowling all-rounder in the form of Stokes, a hard hitting finisher in the form of Butler, a stable in form Samson at No. 3 and a potent death bowler in Archer along with decent uncapped spinners in Krishnappa Gowtham & Shreyas Gopal. Every match, RR has lost till date, has had contributions, from the flawed leadership skills of Rahane, to some extent. The way RR squandered their chase, in their recent loss against SRH, is highly disappointing to say the least. Rahane, the skipper himself, played the innings of sheet anchor, but could not accelerate even in the end overs, when it was needed. Krishnappa Gowtham, inspite of showing his clean striking ability, in the match against MI, came in to bat, with 21 needed off 6 balls, when he was facing his first ball on the crease. Even, Mahipal Lomror, the debutant for RR in IPL 2018, was sent ahead of Gowtham- captaincy horrors. If there is one positive, they can take from this week of IPL, it is the fact, that Jofra Archer, has lived up to the hype surrounding him and has provided RR, with a much needed death bowling solution.Though, they are positioned 5th in the league table so far, with the number of leadership bloopers, taking pace frequently, I will be very surprised if RR make their way tot the playoffs.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) [P-8 W-4 L-4]
KKR is trying to build Shivam Mavi as a death over specialist- not because they are willing to develop young players, for the future, but because they do not have any other option. The other pacers in the squad are the aged war horse Johnson, who can at best be a 2-3 overs bowler, the 17-run-over-famous-Vinay Kumar, who has probably played his last IPL match and proving-not-so-effective on Indian pitches, Tom Curran. That sums up KKR's death bowling woes, as far as the pace bowling department is concerned. The difference between RCB & KKR's bowling lies in the fact that KKR has 3 quality spinners, (that RCB lack) either of whom are providing breakthroughs in the middle overs, which are covering up for the damage caused by their pacers in the end overs. Coming to the batting line up, Lynn, it seems, like his senior from Queensland, has decided to deploy sweep, as the only option to counter spin and Uthappa, after playing a few delightful shots are getting out in his 30s. Add to it, the team management is wasting a proper batting talent, in the form of Shubhman gill, by sending him at No. 7. KKR, like RR, is not looking good at the moment, except for a fine difference. DK, I guess has got his team of 11 players, decided. The only change, that I guess, we will be seeing in the upcoming matches, is Johnson or Curran, exchanging their positions in the final 11. That, according to me, defines a portion of success to any team, when all the 11 players in the team are secure about their positions, out there and KKR is living up to it. Needing to win 4 out of their remaining 6 matches to qualify for the playoffs, KKR look to have a 50-50 chance at the present moment to make it to the next stage of the tournament.
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) [P-7 W-5 L-2]
Through the halfway stage in the tournament, the top 3 teams are clearly creating a gulf in their performance with the remaining 5 teams. While, IPL throughout its last 10 editions, only manifests, that nothing is decided till the last ball of the last group match is bowled, it is looking increasingly probable, that the top 3 teams, making their way to the playoffs, will be the present top 3. KXIP, being the 3rd in the list, has been cruising no holds barred through the tournament, aided by the magnificent captaincy of Ashwin. Ashwin's captaincy skills, has actually been the revelation of the tournament,so far for me and he is surely turning a lot of heads with his meticulous strategy making and field settings. However, in the last couple of matches, KXIP is exposing a chink in their armour- the fragile middle order. The chink has been there for long, it has just hidden at times behind the blistering batting of Gayle or Rahul or the scrupulous leadership of Ashwin, but it is out in the open now, after their last 2 matches, for other teams to exploit. Yes, they definitely need to win only 3 out of their remaining 7 encounters to qualify for the playoffs, and are well set to do so, but as we know, stranger things have happened in IPL history and Ashwin is experienced enough to not entertain any complacency.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) [P-7 W-5 L-2]
The team of 'The Thala'. The find of the season for CSK has been Rayudu. I was actually dumbfounded, when MI let off Rayudu, so easily in the auctions to CSK. After all, Rayudu has been the go-to-man for MI, through the last 5 years. Now, he is exactly doing the same role, if not more, in yellow jersey. The experienced brain of Dhoni has quickly identified, that Rayudu can play the role of the accumulator, through the innings, who can be let loose on the opposition in the end overs. Thus, Rayudu was sent out to open the innings since the beginning of the season and he has absolutely grasped the opportunity like fish to water. He is the proud owner of the Orange Cap, right now in a tournament, where the regular Indian internationals are playing, and that is by no means an insignificant achievement. Add to that, Dhoni, himself has solved his recent problems against left arm spin and leg spin, by smashing Pawan Negi & Markande in successive matches. Raina is also back in form after the last match against MI, and suddenly CSK is looking a formidable unit. The only challenge they are yet to conquer midway into the tournament, is that their bowling unit is yet to defend a moderate 160-170 score, and for the other teams, they may be looking at this as the only opportunity to defeat CSK. The only hypothetical formula that the teams will be trying against CSK, in the next half of the tournament, will be to win the toss (not in their hands), bowl first, restrict CSK to below 175 and chase it down hopefully. However, the CSK bowling is yet to go through that kind of rigour, in recent matches, for it to be identified as their cause of concern. Needing to win, 3 out of
their remaining 7 matches to qualify for the playoffs, CSK, should well cruise through, specially considering the kind of form, they are in.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) [P-8 W-6 L-2]
If there was a mirror image of winning formulae, it could well be said, the winning formula of SRH is a mirror image of CSK. For CSK, it is, bowl first, irrespective of how many the opposition scores, they will chase it down. For SRH, the formula is bat first, irrespective of how little they score, the bowlers will defend the score. In a tournament, where scores of 200 plus have been chased with ease, SRH has defended scores of less than 120, 130 and 150 in 3 consecutive matches and kudos to the bowling department of SRH for that effort. To think, that, all of this is happening without Bhuvi Kumar on the field, just reinforces the bench strength of the franchise. For the last 3 matches, just like their bowling department, with Rashid Khan, Shakib, Siddharth Kaul, Basil Thampi and Sandeep Sharma, has come to the fore, it must also be kept in mind, that their middle order beyond Williamson has failed consistently. Going forward, this may be a major cause of concern for them, as the rest of the teams are surely noting this major weakness down. For the moment, they are evenly poised, with only 2 wins required from the remaining 6 matches to qualify for the playoffs.However, considering their position in the league table, they will at least be aiming for a top 2 finish, at the end of the group stages.
Conclusion
KXIP, CSK & SRH are looking to be on their way to qualify for the playoffs with ease. The rest of the teams are jostling among themselves for the 4th spot. However, even for the top 3 teams, as we all know, from past IPL seasons, a losing streak maybe just around the corner, which may turn the entire league table upside down. As IPL fans, we hope for such miracles,as it only makes the competition interesting. With hope and aspiration, let us wait and see what Week 4 of this cricketing fiesta, has in store for us.
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