Media Release
By Denzil Fernandes
Oct 5: ‘Cometh the hour, cometh the man’ is an age-old saying. In modern-day T20 cricket, this saying holds good and effective for each and every team. The 13th edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen cricketers hammering away runs in pursuit of victory. Big and well-known names try all the tricks in the game where they exhibit their skills on the field of play. Of course, there are good and bad days for the boys in the middle which only goes to prove that ‘every day is not Sunday’.
Team owners have shelled out huge sums for these players who are considered to be their trump cards and capable of winning matches. There are at least 3 to 4 important players in every team who can make their team win. The final result will depend on the performances of such players, to say the least.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) seem to be well prepared with regard to the nucleus of their team. Led by their successful captain Rohit Sharma, they also have Quinton de Kock from South Africa who can be dangerous when he gets going. ‘Hit Man’ Rohit loves his batting and has the ability to score sixes and fours at will. Quinton is steadier and takes time to score his runs but is very dependable. Another key man is West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard who can make mincemeat of any bowling. He specializes in hitting sixers with ease. He has been with MI since 2010 and has played a record of 150 matches for MI. There is also Hardik Pandya with a reputation for quick scoring. He injects plenty of energy on the field and his ‘playboy’ image gels well with his cameo style of walking and batting. MI have found pocket dynamite in pint-sized Ishan Kishan who has breathtaking with his mighty hitting.
Last year’s IPL runners up Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is full of experienced cricketers who can win their matches on their own. India’s former skipper M S Dhoni, also widely known as Mr ‘Cool’ is a great finisher of all tight matches. He emphatically enhances his batting to suit the situation. Everyone feels that Dhoni should bat at a higher position. CSK also has Australian Shane Watson who can be explosive. He is a gutsy all-rounder having also played for Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in earlier IPL editions. He is yet to click well for CSK in the UAE, but when that happens there will be no stopping him. Probably in one of his last IPL seasons. South Africa’s Faf du Plessis is a fabulous opener and fantastic fielder who can be an asset to any team. Both Watson and du Plessis were unbeaten as openers when they won against Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets. Likewise, Ambati Rayudu has developed a great habit of accumulating runs. Spinner Chawla has now become an important member of CSK with his wicket-taking style of bowling. Old CSK faithful Bravo and the young kid from England Sam Curran mean a lot for Dhoni’s victory plans.
Sunrisers Hyderabad has a battery of batters in captain David Warner, Johnny Bairstow and Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson who are the pillars for the side. All 3 have a great appetite for runs. Along with them is that crafty spinner Rashid Khan from Afghanistan mesmerizing opposing batsmen with his unplayable spin. India’s Manish Pandey and bowler Bhuvanesh are supporting stars who have a big say in their team’s progress.
Bollywood film star Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has an array of players dominated by India’s young stars. They have impressive Shubman Gill, Mavi and Nagakoti apart from others. However, captain Dinesh Karthik expects a lot from experienced West Indian Andre Russel and England T20 skipper Eoin Morgan for his team. Russel is a carbon copy of MI’s Kieron Pollard in every sense of the word. Looks, style, utility and everything else makes Russel a dangerous batsman. He is yet to get into full flow and KKR depends a lot on him. England’s Morgan has proved his worth with his batting and overall support for other members of the team. Another import from West Indies Sunil Narine has been most unproductive so far. No one knows what Narine is doing with very little contribution from him. Probably, young England star Tom Banton can be more than useful for KKR and replace Narine.
One of the hottest sides in the current IPL, Delhi Capitals (DC) is showing all signs of going all the way in the tournament. With a ‘no-nonsense’ coach in Australia’s Ricky Ponting, almost every member has pulled his weight with good effect. Led from the front, young Shreyas Iyer has fired showing great class in his batting. Others to shine include opener Prithvi Shah, Shikhar Dhawan, Stoinis and keeper Pant apart from spinner Ashwin and pacer Rabada from South Africa. Overall, DC looks like a happier lot on the field, unlike some other teams. One should not be surprised if they enter the finals.
Kumble’s Kings XI Punjab has not been able to rule so far in the IPL despite showing glimpses of promise and hope. In K L Rahul they have a captain who walks his talk with brilliant batting. His Karnataka statemate Mayank Agarwal has been prolific with his batting but another Bengalurean Karun Nair has been a total flop. The management has to quickly replace Karun with the experienced Chris Gayle who has been warming the benches so far. The same goes for all-rounder Karnataka’s Krishnappa Gowtham who has been struggling all along. For some strange reason, Australia’s Glen Maxwell has not risen to the occasion and has fallen for low scores. Maxwell is a match-winner on his own and when he clicks there can be nothing but victory for the Punjab team. India’s speed merchant Mohammed Shami has worked tirelessly along with young spinner Ravi Bishnoi. But there is a long way to lift the cup. Experienced coach Anil Kumble has to do a lot of head-scratching.
Like Delhi Capitals, Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) seem to be peaking slowly but surely. With an eye on the elusive trophy, Kohli has finally found his batting form in the 4th match against Rajasthan Royals with an unbeaten 72 runs which included 2 sixes and 7 fours in 53 balls on their way to victory. As usual, long time RCB resident A B de Villiers from South Africa has performed admirably both in front of the wicket as a batsman and behind the wicket as wicketkeeper. But young opener Devdutt Padikkal (also from Karnataka) has been the find for RCB with his sensational batting. Padikkal became the only player in IPL to score 3 fifties in his first 4 games. With Australian captain Aaron Finch as his opening partner, Finch has been finding it difficult to cope with Padikkal’s powerful scoring rate. Wily spinner Chahal and young bowler Sundar and Saini have stopped their opponents with tight bowling. With some more efforts and luck, RCB may get to the end for the final IPL coronation which they have missed all along in the IPL.
There are at least 19 players in the current IPL in the UAE playing for the 8 franchise teams. Top of the list is Australia’s dependable batsman Steve Smith who is leading Rajasthan Royals (RR). They won the title in the first-ever IPL in 2008 under Aussie world-class spinner Shane Warne and have then gradually faded away for unknown reasons. This year, of course, RR is showing significant signs with some good wins so far. Their batting has depended heavily on skipper Smith and sensational Sanju Samson. Samson especially has been phenomenal with his massive sixers and quick scoring. Englishmen Jos Butler, Jofra Archer and Tom Curran are vital cogs for RR. One of their top buys all-rounder Ben Stokes has delayed his arrival due to personal reasons. They have a good set of youngsters like Yashaswi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Shreyas Gopal to lend support. If there is an all-round contribution from everyone, Steve Smith can hope to enter the playoff stage at least. That will be a great achievement.
All in all, each and every single franchise has stars who can sparkle. These big guns are like the ‘who’s who’ of international cricket. Brushing shoulders along these stalwarts are India’s young brigade who are learning the tricks of the trade quickly. The IPL has been a showcase of fabulous batting display, clever bowling and superlative fielding. There is no scope for an easy life on the field when the team owners have paid them an unprecedented amount to play. Naturally, everyone expects a tense and nail-biting tussle in the middle for supremacy.
Without any doubt, the game changers are here to shine in the IPL.