Sidhanta Patnaik is a writer for Wisden India and is providing the best and worst from the past few days in the Indian Premier League in The National's latest IPL review.
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Bowling woes for Bangalore and Pune
The inability of bowling units to provide breakthroughs has cost Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rising Pune Supergiants dearly, and put them on the bottom half of the table after five games each.
That Bangalore are better placed is because they beat Pune in a run-feast, but their flaws were exposed yet again, against Gujarat Lions, where they failed to defend 180 after Virat Kohli’s brilliant century.
MS Dhoni has not been helped by Ravichandran Ashwin’s poor form and has openly spoken about the lead bowler’s failure to stick to the brief, evident during their two-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders.
The two sides lack a strike bowler with a range of varieties, a weakness especially evident in close games decided in the death overs. Barring Murugan Ashwin (Pune) and Shane Watson (Bangalore), none of the other bowlers have taken seven wickets in the competition so far for either of the teams.
Delhi’s comeback
It is still early days, but the credit for Delhi Daredevils’ three consecutive wins for the first time since 2012 must go to the coaching staff, led by Rahul Dravid and Paddy Upton, and Zaheer Khan’s captaincy.
The players have been given a free hand to express themselves, and Sanju Samson’s 48-ball 60 in the 10-run win against Mumbai Indians was a factor of that. Veterans such as Amit Mishra and Zaheer, who bowled an excellent penultimate over against Mumbai, have been sensational with the ball, and Mohammed Shami’s control has given the side an edge on the field.
In the absence of any real star, barring Quinton de Kock, it remains to be seen how far they go, but so far the contribution of the Indian talents have given a fresh twist to the franchise’s fortunes after many seasons of staleness.
The magic of ‘Fizz’
Mustafizur Rahman’s left-arm seam bowling has established that there is place for intelligent bowlers in a batsman-dominated format. He has played a significant role in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s wins over Gujarat Lions and Kings XI Punjab, returning combined figures of 8-1-28-3. Of his 48 deliveries, 27 were dots and he conceded just one boundary.
The pressure created by “The Fizz”, as he has been nicknamed by his Hyderabad teammates, has allowed the rest of the bowlers to reap the rewards and give the team the right balance. Consistent pace and a range of cutters apart, his ability to stay ahead of the batsmen during the death overs has made him a popular player.
Mysterious in every sense, he went up to David Warner, his captain, and said: “No problem bowling, but speaking and batting a problem.”
Star performance
That Virat Kohli’s first century – 100 not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Gujarat Lions – came on Sachin Tendulkar’s birthday had a nice ring to it. It was a classical knock filled with strokes all round the wicket, punctuated by smart running despite fighting cramps on a hot Rajkot afternoon. His unbroken 121-run partnership with KL Rahul gave a glimpse of his ability to guide a not-particularly-big hitter without breaking much sweat.
Worst display
So much of Kings XI Punjab’s fortune hinges on the form of David Miller, their captain, and Glenn Maxwell that their failure has left Punjab at the bottom of the table. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Moises Henriques dismissed them in the space of four balls as the innings lost direction. The pair now aggregates 85 in five games, and have been dismissed thrice in the same over so far this season.
Best run out
Mumbai Indians needed 62 runs off 45 balls against Delhi Daredevils when Rohit Sharma defended the fourth delivery of the over back to Zaheer Khan, who turned around and produced a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Hardik Pandya, who had made 36 in 17 balls, knew the result immediately.
Best quote
“Next year, the IPL governing council will be looking at venues in India and abroad. The constant shifting is getting tough. From now, before drawing the schedule, we will check the availability of venues and prevailing conditions.” – Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, on IPL being the soft target for every issue in India.
Key game
Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils are second and third on the points table, but Delhi have played one game less. While Gujarat have been clinical in their four successful chases, Delhi’s ability to get the best out of their Indian talents, apart from Quinton de Kock’s batting, has been one of the highlights. Their face-off at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday is a tantalising prospect and the winner would put themselves in a stronger position.
Key statistic
In a week when Suresh Raina became the first Indian to score 6,000 Twenty20 runs, Virat Kohli stole the limelight with his first century in the format. His unbeaten 63-ball 100 against Gujarat Lions took his T20 average in 2016 to 110.22 with 11 fifty-plus scores in 17 innings.
