THE fifth season of the IPL has undoubtedly been its most riveting – with a 76-game season, many were dreading a drawn-out tournament with plenty of pointless games. However, the first – and only – dead rubber of the season was the very last of the group stages, as Rajasthan succumbed to Mumbai.
There have been plenty of close games, with many taken to the last over, and a fair few decided on the very last ball. There have been upsets galore, and I’m glad – and surprised – to say that overall, it’s been very enjoyable.
The scenery this IPL has been one of the highlights.
The final stages see a rather nifty way of determining the finalists – Delhi and Kolkata finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the group stages, and will play something resembling a semi-final. However, the loser of this game will get a second chance on Friday, playing the winner of the Mumbai vs Chennai game.
In theory, it seems like a very fair way of determining the finalists – as well as adding an extra high-profile game to the calendar, it rewards consistent performances through the group stages – as well as inevitably rewarding the team belonging to the BCCI secretary…
Delhi Daredevils – Kolkata Knight Riders – Mumbai Indians – Chennai Super Kings – Verdict
Key players
Virender Sehwag & David Warner – Consistency has been the key to Sehwag’s success this season, as he became the first batsman in history to score five consecutive T20 fifties. He has scored at a S/R of 164 this season, and is only trumped in this regard by his opening partner Warner, who is hitting at 172! However, since Sehwag’s last fifty, he has scored just 39 runs in four knocks, and has suffered with flu – will he be fit enough to lead Delhi to their first IPL final?
Yeah, don’t bother asking me what this photo is all about. I still don’t have a fucking clue.
Morne Morkel – ‘The Beast’ started off this IPL season as a player who had never really threatened in the T20 arena, often bowling a hittable length not suited to IPL. Most observers thought that he’d be warming the bench for a large part of the tournament, with Delhi’s excellent pace options.
However, Morkel has proven to be a revelation, winning the prestigious Purple Cap with 25 wickets during the group stages. The key to Morkel’s success is that he’s finally been able to nail down his second spell at the death – generally there’s been enough juice in the wickets for him to be able to bowl a ‘Test’ length first up, but now he has managed to consistently land the yorker at the death.
Morne ‘The Beast’ Morkel in action.
Strategy
Delhi’s fast bowlers look as good as any in the tournament, with Umesh Yadav particularly impressive amongst the Indian bowlers. They have troubled all batsmen with their sheer pace and consistency, and deserve plenty of credit for being one of the few attacks to hunt as a pack.
However, Delhi’s weakness lies in their over-reliance at the top of the order – in Sehwag and Warner, they have two outstanding players, but if they both fail, Delhi will inevitably struggle.
Mahela Jayawardene was bought for $1.4m and brought in to shore up a middle order which had been fragile in previous seasons. This year, he’s managed to hang around, but unable to replicate his previous successes with Kings XI Punjab and Kochi Tuskers Kerala(!), scoring at a S/R of just 105 and hitting just a single six.
At the same time, Ross Taylor (S/R 108), was bought for $1m and has been abysmal, with his 55 against Bangalore being the sole bright spot in an otherwise crap season.
Ross Taylor puts on a brave face, but he’s crying inside.
Delhi’s main question was whether to swap Taylor for Andre Russell, who’d been inexplicably languishing on the sidelines all tournament long. However, after Russell’s 4-0-51-1 on a greentop against Punjab, he’ll understandably be seen as a liability, and Delhi will hope that Mr Midwicket can finally come good.
Roelof van der Merwe didn’t really put a foot wrong when given an opportunity earlier in the tournament, and he might be worth a punt in the qualifier against KKR at Pune, as it’s a pitch that’s taken plenty of turn.
Regardless, Delhi’s middle order looks very soft, and in previous years, will surely be vulnerable under the pressure of a chase in a knock-out game – they must look to bat first and pile on the runs.
Delhi’s Best XI:
1. Sehwag (c) 2. Warner 3. Ojha (wk) 4. Jayawardene 5. Venugopal Rao 6. van der Merwe 7. Irfan Pathan 8. Nadeem 9. Morne Morkel 10. Umesh Yadav 11. Varun Aaron
Key Players
Gautam Gambhir is at his best when he has a point to prove. Since being replaced as Indian vice-captain by that paragon of virtue Virat Kohli, Gambhir is clearly taking advantage of the IPL as an opportunity to give a two-fingered salute to those who dumped him in favour of a young man who could do with some anger management classes.
Gambhir’s infectious enthusiasm has been key to KKR’s success.
Gambhir has a me-against-the-world attitude right now, and at the start of the season, it could have gone both ways. His stony disposition and now trademark #GambhirSulk could have easily transferred to his charges, but unlike some other captains in the IPL, he has led from the front – ‘Gauti’ has 391 runs @ 39.7, with an exceptional strike-rate of 142.2.
Sunil Narine has been a revelation in the IPL, bamboozling all before him. Not a single player has sussed him out, and he finished the group stages with 22 wickets and a tournament-leading economy rate of just 5.14. Narine is a big turner of the ball, and seemingly impossible to pick.
Sunil Narine celebrating one of his 22 victims so far this season.
Oddly for a spinner, 54% of Narine’s tournament wickets have come from deliveries that have been short of a length. Perhaps batsmen will eventually suss that they must play him from deep in the crease?
Strategy
Strategically, Kolkata have struggled. After 70 games, KKR have finally stumbled upon the ‘Spin It To Win It’ strategy that we advocated early on. They deserve plenty of flak for taking so long to get Shakib-Al-Hasan into their side – he should have been an auto-pick after his Asia Cup heroics.
Playing four spinners in Narine, Shakib, Abdullah and The Bear Jew (formerly known as Yusuf Pathan’) should have been a no-brainer from the off – it makes sense to play to your strengths, and as such, the Eden Gardens pitches should have been dustbowls, where playing spin would have been nigh on impossible. However, under-appreciated medium-pacer Rajat Bhatia is arguably KKR’s glue to hold their bowling together. He generally comes on after the 10th over, and stifles the opposition into searching for singles, at a time when they are generally looking to accelerate.
KKR need 40 off 20? “CALL IN THE BEAR JEW!”
Jacques Kallis (S/R 103) and Brendon McCullum (S/R 104, and just two sixes in the tournament) have been very poor, and their deficiencies have been masked by Gambhir’s brilliance. In T20, your average is largely secondary to your strike-rate, particularly in the top order, and you simply cannot afford to have two gun international batsmen dawdling through the first six overs.
As Rahul Dravid has shown, having one opener who can rotate the strike at a S/R of sub-120 is fine, but but you can’t allow 2 of your top 3 to plod along with stats that Ganguly would be proud of.
Kallis has endured a torrid tournament, without being lambasted by the media – when will they learn that he is a liability in T20?
It is too late in the day to make wholesale changes, but in an ideal world, Ryan ten Doeschate would be prepped and ready for a starring role in this side – on paper, he’s a much better T20 option than both McCullum and Kallis.
It is too late in the day to make wholesale changes, and so it’s up to McSlogga and Kallis to come good at the business end of the tournament. Win or lose, it’s been horrendous planning from Kolkata throughout the tournament – Kallis at no. 3 is only ever going to hamstring a chase and stifle a good start.
Keeping this in mind, I reckon it would be best to give McCullum a go in the lower order. He prefers hitting over the top of the infield against the new ball, but given his poor form, something must be done.
Kolkata Knight Riders Best XI:
1. Gambhir (c) 2. Kallis 3. Tiwary 4. Shakib-Al-Hasan 5. McCullum (wk) 6. The Bear Jew 7. Das 8. Bhatia 9. Narine 10. Abdullah 11. Balaji
Key Players
Lasith Malinga – the lion-haired Sri Lankan has once again been fiendishly good, with 22 wickets at an ER of just 6.00. His death bowling has changed the course of games, and he has proven virtually impossible to slog.
Lasith Malinga dyed his hair back the next day.
Rohit Sharma – undoubtedly Mumbai’s class T20 batsman, Sharma has excited and frustrated in typical fashion this year. His 109* on a slow pitch against Kolkata will live long in the memory, as will his last-over assault on Dan Christian in an early game against Deccan Chargers. However, with 419 tournament runs, Sharma’s excellent performances have been fleeting – as ever, he is not making the most of his talent. He should look to the likes of Ajinkya Rahane (560 runs) and Shikhar Dhawan (569 runs), who he will soon be competing with for a berth in the Indian side.
When Rohit Sharma is batting, it’s easy to picture him counting the thousand dollars for each run that he scores.
Strategy
Mumbai’s first six overs have generally been horrific – they have chopped and changed their openers with an incredible fickleness. Finally, it seems like they will settle on Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar. It’s a risky option considering Smith’s inconsistency, but perhaps worth a gamble in the hope that he has hit form just at the right time. Still, the likes of Ravi Ashwin will be licking his lips, sure in the knowledge that a carrom ball will invite Smith’s top edge more often than not.
Ambati Rayudu has been a bright spot in Mumbai’s middle order, averaging 40.3 at a S/R of 130. He has made up for the relatively quiet tournaments of Dinesh Karthik and Kieron Pollard.
Mumbai’s bowling looked exceptionally strong at the start of the IPL, but has waned as the tournament has progressed. Malinga has been outstanding, but the rest have faltered – with just 6 wickets in 15 games, Harbhajan Singh does not even make the top 50 bowlers of the season.
At this year’s IPL opening ceremony, Katy Perry’s rendition of “I kissed a girl and was promptly arrested for it” went down a treat.
Despite picking up 15 wickets, Munaf Patel has lost his rag far too often – his three consecutive no-balls against Bangalore being a tournament highlight. Despite moving to Mumbai Indians because he was not first-choice spinner at Deccan, Pragyan Ojha has played just 9 matches – he should come into the reckoning on the worn Chennai track.
Overall, Mumbai have not yet played to their potential, and have scraped plenty of matches which they shouldn’t have won. However, considering that a similar level of cricket won them the Champions League last year, perhaps all is going according to plan?
Mumbai Indians Best XI:
1. Tendulkar 2. Dwayne Smith 3. Rohit Sharma 4. Dinesh Karthik (wk) 5. Rayudu 6. Pollard 7. Franklin 8. Harbhajan (c, dickhead) 9. Malinga 10. Munaf 11. Ojha
“IPL is what happens when dozens of men run around in their pyjamas for eight weeks, and in the end Chennai wins.” – @lemayol
— Alternative Cricket (@AltCricket) May 20, 2012
Key player
N Srinivasan – the BCCI secretary and Chennai part-owner has bravely put aside any potential conflicts of interest in order to focus on some outstanding behind-the-scenes work for the Super Kings. While Uncle Srini is in such fine form, Chennai’s playing XI is largely irrelevant.
Strategy
Look at the stats and you will wonder how on earth Chennai have even come close to qualifying – their leading bowler is Ravi Jadeja, with just 11 wickets from 16 matches (18th in the overall list). Their leading batsman is Faf du Plessis with 398 runs (11th overall), but who has now been dropped in favour of Mike Hussey.
Talisman and captain MS Dhoni has endured a torrid IPL, and has rarely ever shown even a glimpse of the world-class finisher we know he can be – he’s scored just 269 runs at a S/R of just 112. After Chris Gayle smashed 25 off Manpreet Gony’s first over against Deccan, Chennai were all but out of the competition. Lucky for them, Dale Steyn came to their rescue with an outstanding spell of 4-0-8-3, and all of a sudden, Chennai find themselves at the business end of the tournament.
CSK’s most important performance of the tournament has come from Dale Steyn. #IPL
— Alternative Cricket (@AltCricket) May 20, 2012
Discussing a strategy for Chennai is fairly obsolete, considering they haven’t got going at all this season. As a squad, they have just five fifties between them this IPL, a tournament low. Bowling-wise, they look average without a firing Doug Bollinger – even his replacement, Ben Hilfenhaus, has looked decent in patches, but conceded 14 off the last 3 balls against Mumbai to lose the game. Like Pele in the bedroom, Ravi Ashwin has been unable to penetrate as in previous years – last year’s star spinner has just 9 wickets in 16 games.
Srinivasan: “That’s great…but you’ll still win, yes?”
All in all, Chennai have no right to be anywhere near winning this tournament…but never underestimate the power of #LuckOfTheDhoni. Chennai are two-time IPL champions and know how to navigate the knock-out phase – don’t be surprised if they come up trumps once again.
Chennai Super Kings Best XI:
1. Mike Hussey 2. Badrinath 3. Raina 4. Dhoni (wk) 5. Dwayne Bravo 6. Jadeja 7. Albie Morkel 8. Aniruddha Srikkanth 9. Ashwin 10. Hilfenhaus 11. Jakati/Yo Mahesh
Kolkata Knight Riders are best equipped to go the distance – they have the best bowling unit, and though slightly light in the batting department, any deficiencies should be masked by the mystery of Sunil Narine. Also, back captain Gautam Gambhir to perform on the big stage.
by the editor
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