The 2013 edition of the IPL is just about a week old but the quality of cricket we have seen so far has already left the viewer anxious for more. In about half the games we have seen last over finishes and also one super over finish. How’s that for entertainment?! With changing pitches & conditions, the bowlers have managed to hold their own this time around as much as the batsmen have found the going tough. T20 doesn’t always mean posting 200 runs on the board. Unlike most editions, this IPL we have seen many low scoring thrillers where there has been an intriguing contest between the bat and ball.
It’s the end of an action packed week, where we have witnessed it all. After the wonderful opening ceremony, as the action began, Brett Lee, kick started the IPL with a dream ball to clean up Unmukt Chand. There have been so many sparkling individual performances, be it Chris Gayle’s destructive 92 against Mumbai or captain cool, MS Dhoni’s 51 in a losing cause for Chennai.
Narine began from where he left, picking up wonderful figures of 4/13 on the opening night against Delhi. R Dravid had a great comeback to competitive cricket with a match winning knock of 65 against Delhi. K Pollard was once again a victim of Mumbai’s batting order strategy blunder, where he barely got a chance to bat in Mumbai’s first game. In the second game, he really made it count with an important fifty when Mumbai was faltering with its top order batting failure.
K Cooper has been the go to man for Rajasthan, having won them the game with the ball twice in the death overs. A Mishra has been the unsung hero for Hyderabad giving consistent performances. In fact, he didn’t know that he holds the record for the most wickets taken in IPL history by an Indian, that’s how low profile he keeps himself. D Karthik has had a consistent start to this edition with a fairly powerful batting performance in the two games.
Vinay Kumar has had a see-saw time. In his first outing he held his nerve to defend 10 runs against the star studded Mumbai while in the next against Hyderabad he bowled a brilliant final over only to concede 6 runs and ensure a Super Over finish but ended up conceding twenty runs there to eventually lose the game. What an anti-climax!
Young pacer J Bumrah had a great start to his IPL career picking up 3 wickets on debut against Bangalore. U19 players, M Vohra & H Vihari have both shown they can perform at his level, both having won a man of match award each. S Trivedi bowled a winning spell of 3/23 against the defending champions, Kolkata.
Gurkeerat Mann Singh took fielding to a new level with his spectacular catch of Ross Taylor, just a day after the Pollard special that cut short the Dhoni charge just in time for the Mumbai Indians to hold onto a win. Vinay Kumar’s effort to run out A Mishra, with a brilliant diving stop ensuring the ball doesn’t go across, then a perfect throw to the keeper, catching the batsman short of his crease was one of the best run outs you will see under pressure. We have already had glimpses of brilliance in the field in this edition of IPL. Beware there is more to follow.
Points Table Update
There have been early heartbreaks for Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore & Delhi, 5 of the biggest contenders for the IPL trophy while underdogs Rajasthan, Hyderabad and Punjab have surprised one and all with their performances. Pune have had a horrid start and are generally looking clueless.
Rajasthan Royals & Hyderabad lead the table having won both the games they have played so far. Kings XI, is placed third having won the sole game they played. Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore & Kolkata Knight Riders are placed fourth, fifth and sixth respectively having won one game out of two each. Delhi Daredevils is placed seventh having lost both their games. Chennai Super Kings is placed eight but have just played the one game and lost. Pune Warriors have looked lacklustre and have been thrashed in both their games. They will have to really pull up their socks to move higher up in the table from the bottom.
Still early days into the mega event to draw any reasoned conclusion.
Whats in Store
The second week of the tournament promises to be just as exciting. We shall all be hoping to see V Sehwag, L Malinga, Zaheer Khan & B Mc Cullum back in action from their injuries. AB de Villiers, arguably the best batsman in the world today will enhance the tournament with his class and provide Bangalore a good finisher. Hyderabad will be further bolstered by the arrival of the world cup winning captain, Darren Sammy. The experienced Morkel brothers will both be useful additions to their respective teams. The arrival of Chris Morris should add another option for Chennai.
So lets look forward to some further excitement in the coming days.
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