Looking back at the 3rd full week of the Indian T20 League, it can be said that the batsmen really came to the party. At the end of the first fortnight, experts talked at length about how think-tanks had curtailed the big scores and that the shortest format was being dominated by the bowlers. Indeed, no hundreds had been scored and the purple cap moved from one head to another in the space of hours. But stellar performances with the bat by Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, David Miller and MS Dhoni reaffirmed that the batsmen were the biggest crowd-pullers as far as this format is concerned.
Note: The games played from 20th April to 26th April have been reviewed in this piece.
As far as intensity and thrills are concerned the start was mixed. Chennai took on Kolkata in the latter's intimidating backyard, Eden Gardens, and exacted revenge for the loss in last year's final. In what turned out to be typical low scoring nail-biter, Kolkata put in a brave effort defending 119 until they ran into 'Sir' Ravindra Jadeja. The Saurashtra lad had earlier chipped in with 3 important wickets and managed to score a breezy 36 off 14 balls on a pitch where Michael Hussey and MS Dhoni had struggled to play the big shots. The knock included 30 runs from fours and sixes (3 each); one of the sixes hit off Sunil Narine over the Trinidadian's head and into the sightscreen. It was to be the first of a 3 loss streak at home for the defending champions.
On the same day, emotions took the better of more than just one Bangalorean as its favorite son turned out in blue colors leading Rajasthan against the city's franchise in the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The crowd gave Rahul Dravid a much bigger reception than the current favorite Chris Gayle. The game of cricket however, failed to live up to its billing and turned out to be an easy win for the home side, with Gayle batting out 17.5 overs to just score 49. But who knew that this was just a warm-up jog for the marathon to come later in the week!
Before Gayle's savage assault on Pune, there were a few other incidents of note. The one which would have pleased most Indian fans was the Virender Sehwag's return to blistering touch. Mumbai's strong bowling line-up was reduced to smithereens as Sehwag made small weather of 161, smashing 95 of them in a superb 9 wicket win in Delhi. It was to end Delhi's 7 match losing streak and gave much joy to a loyal crowd which continued to throng the Kotla despite a pathetic display by the home team.
While Indian fans were left overjoyed, the Australian fan might have felt a mix of surprise and happiness. Shane Watson, who quit the national team's vice-captaincy, had begun to bowl for Rajasthan and even notched up his first Indian T20 League hundred, albeit in a losing cause. Against Chennai at the MA Chidambaram stadium, Watson produced a sublime batting display which was a proper mix of aggression and class to bring up the edition's first ton. But at the end of the match, the century was negated by Michael Hussey's 88 as Chennai romped home in another tight finish.
As mentioned before, all this was just the trailer. The main film unfolded on April 23rd. Bangalore were being visited by Pune, an encounter which promised a lot because of its past. Last year, when the two teams clashed at the same venue, one of the weapons of Chris Gayle's savage assault had landed in the stands and hurt a little girl. The signs were not looking great though. Rain threatened to wash away the game as Bangalore batted first. There was a stoppage, but after that, it was Gayle who was unstoppable. What happened on that day is well chronicled through records, but what needs to be told is that Pune's bowlers were left with deep wounds. Coach Allan Donald went on record to say that his bowlers might have been left with scars which might not heal. To add insult to injury, Gayle was given the last over to bowl and picked up 2 wickets. It was just a small cherry on the top of a big birthday cake. A total of 17 sixes came off the Jamaican's bat and after carrying his mace through, he went off the field hugging his opponents and sharing a laugh.
The other major highlight, ostensibly drowned out by the couple of hundreds, was David Miller's cool-as-an-iceberg innings for Punjab in a big chase against Pune. This was before the Pune team went over to Bangalore and they did unearth a potential match-winner in the form of Luke Wright. The England all-rounder came in at the death and made every ball count in his innings of 34(10), leaving the home side with 185 to chase. In the company of the promising Mandeep Singh, Miller shepherded the chase brilliantly, smashing 5 fours and an equal number of sixes on the way to a 41 ball 80. Mandeep and Miller finished off the chase themselves which meant that the win was achieved without champion finisher David Hussey having to bat a single ball. Later in the week, Punjab brought Delhi back to their losing ways in a low scoring game, but were at the receiving end of Eoin Morgan in a 6 wicket loss at Kolkata.
The much anticipated Chennai vs Hyderabad game at Chepauk turned out to be a nail-biter (MS Dhoni's side have made close games a habit) with the home side triumphing thanks to Captain Cool. Hyderabad, the newest franchise, have shown the tendency to punch above their weight and did the same, putting on their highest team total of 159. A strong bowling attack featuring Dale Steyn, Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma was expected to deliver, as it has been in this edition, but were let down by poor catching. Mishra himself dropped a sitter of Dhoni on 0 and the latter made them pay with a 37 ball 67. Steyn was carted around the park by the Indian skipper; in the 11 balls that he faced, Dhoni hit him for 3 huge sixes and a four. The match eventually went to the last over and rookie Ashish Reddy was given the ball. It turned out to be too easy for Dhoni as he lazily took a six and 2 fours to finish off the match in style.
Milestones and other points to note:
1) Rohit Sharma completed his 17th T20-League fifty against Delhi. 2nd on the list of most fifties.
2) Pune fielded their 3rd captain of the season. Australian Aaron Finch took over from Angelo Mathews
3) Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad strengthened their holds for a place in the knock-outs. They are at the top of the points table.
4) Rohit Sharma led Mumbai for the first time against Kolkata. And led them to a win as well.
5) Amit Mishra equalled Lasith Malinga's record of most wickets in the T20-League. Currently both are tied on 88 wickets apiece.
No comments:
Post a Comment