Indian cricket writer Manoj Narayan reviews the last few days from the Indian Premier League, including the big talking points, and the best and worst of the action.
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Water wars
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was pushed into a corner on Wednesday (April 13) after the Bombay High Court ordered that IPL matches scheduled for Maharashtra after April 30 be moved out of the state. The High Court was hearing a PIL filed by an NGO, Loksatta Movement, and its decision means 13 matches will have to be relocated from the state because of the prevailing serious drought problem. The BCCI believes the IPL is being unfairly targeted. “We’re not using drinking water, we’ve said we’ll use treated sewage water only. How many swimming pools of five-star hotels have been shut? Have people stopped watering their lawns?” said Anurag Thakur, the secretary of the Indian Board. “There is an attempt to create negativity on every issue these days. IPL was to use 0.00038% of water, so that shows the requirement was not much.” Home matches involving Mumbai Indians (Mumbai), Rising Pune Supergiants (Pune) and Kings XI Punjab (Nagpur) will be affected following the Bombay High Court decree. Additionally, the Eliminator and the Qualifier 2, both in Pune, and the final, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on May 29, will also have to find new venues. The BCCI will have to deal with a logistical nightmare, and find a solution at the last minute. The only thing going for them is that they have been here before. The IPL can’t exist without chaos.
Clash of the titans
Since the ninth edition of the tournament began on April 9, it has been aching for a thriller. There were too many one-sided matches and no real fight on display, meaning the titanic clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, both two-time champions, was suddenly under immense pressure to deliver. And while it wasn’t quite as much a thriller as the India-Bangladesh clash at the recent World Twenty20, it didn’t disappoint. Mumbai, so woeful in their opener against Pune, displayed why they are the defending champions in a six-wicket win. After half-centuries from Gautam Gambhir and Manish Pandey helped Kolkata to 187-5, Rohit Sharma took charge with an unbeaten 54-ball 84. Just as pleasing for Mumbai was Jos Buttler shaking off the IPL jitters he displayed on debut as his 22-ball 41 propelled them to their first win. The top of the table already makes for interesting reading.
Less bowling, more batting
This Royal Challengers Bangalore’s side is a bit disjointed. With Mitchell Starc out of the tournament through injury and Samuel Badree unavailable for the early stages with a shoulder injury, their bowling lacks significant bite, even in the presence of Adam Milne. But so full of awesome power are their batsmen that they may well charge to the title solely on that strength. With the addition of Shane Watson during the auction, they have infused more gloss to an already devastating batting line-up. The effects of that were evident in their first outing, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, when Virat Kohli’s stunning 51-ball 75 was bettered, and not too marginally, by AB de Villiers’s 42-ball 82. Late in the innings, Watson hammered three sixes and the young Sarfaraz Khan scored a 10-ball 35 to help post 227-4. Despite David Warner’s 25-ball 58, Hyderabad lost by 45 runs.
Star performance
Kohli recently revealed that the reason he opens for Bangalore is because someone of the quality of de Villiers is wasted at No 4. Proof of the wisdom of that move came on Tuesday in Bangalore. Chris Gayle was dismissed early, but Kohli and de Villiers partnered for a 157-run stand of such utter and scary devastation that every other IPL side would have taken note. De Villiers won that personal, well-spirited battle, but neither will particularly mind that.
Worst display
Hyderabad’s bowling against Bangalore. Ashish Nehra’s injury, which restricted him to 2.1 overs, threw a spanner in the works, but even accounting for that, the rest of the bowlers, apart from Mustafizur Rahman, lost the plot. Their shoddy execution allowed Kohli, de Villiers and Sarfaraz to become increasingly marauding, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Karn Sharma going for over 50 runs in their four overs, and Moises Henriques taken for 41. They will hope Nehra’s groin injury isn’t serious.
Best shot
For a brief moment at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Sarfaraz diverted the spotlight from de Villiers and Kohli, and pushed himself into focus. His 10-ball 35 was enriched by cheekiness, but the most audacious of his strokes was when he walked across the stumps and shovel-scooped one over third-man. It went all the way for a six.
Best quote
“You pinch yourself that someone like Ricky Ponting is throwing balls to you.” – Jos Buttler on life in the IPL with Mumbai Indians.
Key game — Mumbai Indians v Gujarat Lions
Mumbai already stuttered against a new franchise — Pune — in their tournament opener. But they will have a win under their belt when they face Gujarat on Saturday. Gujarat were impressive on their debut with a five-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab. Mumbai will have to be wary of a side brimming with quality, a lot of which previously lit up the Chennai Super Kings line-up. This could be a cracker.
Key statistic
Dwayne Bravo, the Gujarat Lions all-rounder, became the first player to take 300 wickets in T20s when he dismissed David Miller.
